The Man Behind the Mask
by Whatchoofelloverfor
Summary: "After several blissful moments, they broke apart. Her eyes still closed, she heard him whisper softly: 'Go out with me, Evans'" Sound predictable? It's not what you think. Probably. Read and find out! M for future chapters. NOW COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Hello, lovelies. This is my first story, and I know that's the case with many of these, so I'll try not to bore you too much by begging for reviews.

I apologize in advance for this story not being finished... As a reader of fanfic, I am greatly upset with my author-self for posting an incomplete story. I hate it when a fanfic really has me going, and then ends in the middle with no hope of a prompt update because I didn't notice at first that it wasn't complete. With that in mind, I am being quite hypocritical right now, but with this story I feel that it simply couldn't be avoided. If I had let this sit on my desktop any longer it would never have seen the light of day. The problem is that it starts in the middle and ends with a cliffhanger... So, this story still needs a middle and an end, and I'll probably finish it regardless of reviews, but I'll only post the finished version if there's demand for it. Therefore, please give feedback! Be harsh, I won't resent you for it.

For all those readers like me out there, I REPEAT: **THIS STORY IS INCOMPLETE!**

And with that, sit back and relax as the events unfold [somewhat haltingly, as my schedule allows].

- Lorraine

Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, I would have shacked up with Rupert Grint in his ice cream truck, and we'd be living happily every after. 

* * *

After several blissful moments, they broke apart. Her eyes still closed, she heard him whisper softly: "Go out with me, Evans?"

Her eyes flew open, and her jaw dropped. She dropped the white and gold mask she'd been holding to her face. "Potter?"

He smiled the winsome, slightly crooked James Potter smile, known to have brought hundreds of females to their knees. If Lily's brain had not been in a state of shock, she might have noticed that the grin faltered a bit, and she would have seen nervousness in the hazel eyes partially obscured by the black mask that reminded her of Muggle superheroes. However, she was not in a position to notice these details, and instead rushed out of the Great Hall at top speed.

Behind the fleeing redhead, James Potter's shoulders slumped, and anyone who was listening could have heard a defeated sigh issue from that young man's lips.

* * *

"Bugger. Bugger, bugger, bugger and bloody hell! I'm going to murder the stupid blighter who did this!" Lily continued muttering under her breath.

"You might not want to be doing that, love."

Lily whipped around at the sound of Sirius Black's voice. Her eyes narrowed. "And why is that, Black?"

"Because, _Evans_, the "stupid blighter" of whom you speak happens to be the headmaster."

For the second time in ten minutes, lily's mouth opened in shock.

"What? That's preposterous, Black, Dumbledore has much more important things to do than muck about in the love lives of his students."

As Sirius shrugged and winked, a calm, pleasant voice came from behind her, making her jump slightly.

"More important, perhaps, but certainly neither more entertaining nor more rewarding. Good evening, Ms. Evans."

"Professor Dumbledore, sir! Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Well, Ms. Evans, 'stupid blighter' though I may be—" Lily blushed crimson.

"Profes—"

"—No, no, my dear, don't fret. I've been called far worse. And on purpose, too! As I was saying, I take a great deal of pleasure in watching my students enjoy themselves. It's great sport to see the bloom of new romance. If I do say so, you and Mr. Potter make a lovely couple. And, of course, who can resist a costume ball?"

With that, Dumbledore conjured a feathered mask that reminded Lily of Mardi Gras, and with a charming smile that reached all the way to his sparkling blue eyes, he walked away.

Lily was still in a state of embarrassed shock, so it took her a moment to recall Sirius standing off to the side trying very hard to suppress his laughter. When she did notice his presence, she glared at him. Her attempt to sober him up backfired completely, and he broke into raucous peals of laughter.

Reluctantly, she herself began to grin. Dumbledore really was a bit of a nutter. Then she remembered what Sirius had said in the beginning of this conversation. The grin slipped off her face, the replaced by an expression of skeptical confusion.

"So you're saying that Dumbledore suggested a masquerade ball simply to get me and Ja—I mean Potter—together?"

Sirius had mostly recovered, and said with a cheeky grin "Looks that way, doesn't it, Lilykins?"

This earned him another glare, and Lily sat down on a nearby bench, thinking hard.

"Look, Evans, you really haven't any reason to refuse James now. He's wined and dined you, he's acted polite and debonair, and you shared a kiss that was—as far as I could tell—rather breathtaking. Eh?"

She took a moment to respond, and turned towards him with an expression he had not been expecting. He'd anticipated an angry outburst, or perhaps—significantly less likely but still possible—a shy smile as she comprehended what he just said. What he did not expect from the fierce Lily Evans was a look of trepidation and hesitance.

"But this wasn't supposed to happen, Sirius!" She said, miserably.

Taken aback, he began to ask: "Since when do you call me Siri-? You know, never mind. What wasn't supposed to happen?"

"I wasn't supposed to fall for him! Or if I was, it was supposed to be because he changed drastically and took me seriously."

The young master Black was about to make a "Sirius" joke when his brain processed the fact that Lily Evans was finally admitting to her feelings for his best mate. Then he realized that she had just said something, and that he should keep this conversation going. "But he has changed! You really don't see it? Personally, I do not approve of some of the changes, but that should really just go to show you that you _would_ approve of them. Merlin, Lily, he'd change anything for you. You think he doesn't take you seriously? If that amount of boneheaded determination and devotion isn't 'taking you seriously' then I never want to take anything seriously. It looks like a bloody ton of work."

"But he didn't even ask me to the ball!"

"Would you have said yes?"

"Yes!" Sirius raised an eyebrow. "I would have accepted him, really."

"Why now?"

"Because I'm in love with the prat, for Merlin's sake. I have been for months now."

"But he's still been asking you out at least once a week. If you've loved him for months, why haven't you said 'yes' to one of those offers?"

Lily faltered. "I… well… that is to say…"

"You were scared."

"No! I was _not_ scared."

"Come on, Evans, admit it. You thought you were just a game to him, right? That you were just the frigid bitch who he had to woo to prove his reputation once and for all as the second-most eligible bachelor—the first being yours truly, of course—Hogwarts and the Wizarding World have ever known." She rolled her eyes. "Fine, you don't have to say anything, but I know that's what you're thinking. And I can assure you, as the best mate of a fine lad who's hopelessly in love with you—it's quite sickening, really—that you have never been a game to him." She looked down, and he continued bitterly. "Honestly, I wish that's all this was, because then I don't think he'd be so crushed every time you turn him down."

She looked up at this, a sad look having replaced the fearful one from a few minutes earlier. "Is it really as bad as all that, Sirius? He just seems so strong and carefree. I don't see why I should matter so much."

"Well, right now, I don't either. Honestly, woman! Have you not been listening? He's crazy for you, over the moon, head over heels in love, and he has been since third year!"

"Personally, I think I was a goner as you looked at me on that first ride on the Hogwarts Express."

Two heads whipped around at the sound of a third voice, extremely familiar to them both.

"James?" Lily said. There was a pause during which James met Lily's eyes searchingly for a full ten seconds.

James turned towards the third occupant of the corridor. "Pads, could you give us a mo'?"

"Sure thing, mate." Sirius locked eyes with James for a brief moment in a silent "good luck" and then he sauntered off the same way Dumbledore had gone.

James sat down next to Lily, who had directed her gaze to the floor as soon as she had broken eye contact with the beautiful boy. After a long moment, James spoke.

"While I will be the first to agree that your dainty feet are very alluring, Lily, would you please look at me?"

She looked up and they exchanged small smiles, his encouraging and hers nervous. "How much of that did you hear?" she asked.

"Well, I was sulking about at the refreshments table near the door when I heard Sirius call someone a 'frigid bitch.' I thought my dear best mate might be getting into a girl-fight, and came to investigate. Usually it cheers me up to see him slapped upside the head by his latest paramour, though it's the best fun when Remus is the slapper." She laughed shortly. "But really, Lil—and I know you have very little reason to believe me—Sirius is right. A rare thing, I know, but I do talk about you a lot, so he's probably gathered that I'm not just after you for the sex or anything like that. If it were that easy, he probably would have just Confunded you for an hour or so to let me have my wicked way with you." He grinned.

She gasped exaggeratedly and widened her eyes. He took this for genuine alarm and hastened to reassure her, saying, "No, no, I was kidding. He wouldn't do something like that. And if he would, I'd never take advantage of you like that. Don't worry."

"I know, James. I was kidding."

"Oh. Right…"

She smiled softly. "But really, that's not true, anyways." He began to protest, but she shushed him. "I meant that it's not true that I have very little reason to believe you. I actually have very little reason not to believe you. As Sirius was saying to me before you began listening, you've changed a lot."

"He always was a good lad, Sirius. Though I am a bit offended that you believe him and not me." He frowned.

She nudged him playfully. "Well, you're only the _second_ most eligible bachelor the Wizarding World has ever seen, after all. As the first, and therefore the most beautiful man alive, he's obviously more credible." James rolled his eyes. "Although to be quite honest, I think you'd give him a run for his money in that category." She looked down shyly.

"Why, Miss Lily Evans! Did you just compliment me _and_ flirt with me? All in one go? I'm not sure my poor heart can handle the excitement!" Though he meant it sarcastically, his excited voice and grin—which threatened to split his face in two—indicated that he was more serious than he'd like to let on. She didn't seem to cotton on, though, and merely blushed more deeply.

The old Lily, the one who despised him down to his very core, would have come up with a snappy retort to his comment by now. The lack of a comeback was what really convinced him that things were changing—for the better, he hoped.

By no estimation was James Potter a coward, and so, not unexpectedly, he decided to take the plunge for the second time that evening.

"So, umm, Lils… Can I ask you a question?" She opened her mouth, and by the playful glint in her eye he guessed what she was about to say. "I know, I know, I just did ask you a question, but that's not what I meant. I want to ask you a _real_ question, and it's one that you're used to by now, but just… remember that I'm serious about it. That's probably not something you usually consider, but I'm not just asking to take the mickey out of you, or anything." He looked into her eyes searchingly, and seemed to find what he was looking for, because he started to smile. "And remember that I'm the second most beautiful man in the world, so I have at least some amount of credibility." She rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop her lips from quirking up in a small smile.

"Anyways…. Lily, will you go out with me?"

* * *

And there you have it, the first installment of "The Man Behind the Mask." The next chapter to be posted will be the ACTUAL beginning of this story, since this sort of started in the middle. That means that, once the whole trajectory is laid out, to read this in order it will go something like: Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, **Ch 1** (this), Ch 6, Ch 7, etc. Sorry to be confusing! I hope you're roped in enough to even figure out the convoluted order of the story.


	2. Chapter 2

You see, I told you I would update soon! Anyhow, here is the next bit of "The Man Behind The Mask." Since Chapter 1 started in the middle of the story, **this is actually the beginning** of the tale to come. That means that, once the whole trajectory is laid out, to read this in order it will go something like: Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, **Ch 1** (this), Ch 6, Ch 7, etc. I know, it's confusing, and I apologize profusely. If you have questions, ask me, and if you have criticisms, tell me!

Enjoy Chapter 2!

- Lorraine

* * *

Sitting at her kitchen table reading her Hogwarts letter, Lily Evans found herself displeased with the headmaster for the first time in her school career. She had been made Head Girl—that was not the part that was displeasing; in fact she was overjoyed. She had done an utterly undignified victory dance, and some rather unladylike sounds had issued from her mouth. No, the reason she was miffed at Professor Dumbledore was that she didn't know who the Head Boy was.

Why, oh why, couldn't that have been included in the letter? It really seemed quite reasonable. She was going to have to live with this person for the better part of a year; wasn't it only fair that she get a head start in determining how to deal with him? But, no, that was not how it was done. She would just have to wait and find out on the Hogwarts Express.

Little did she know that she was in for quite a shock.

* * *

On the morning of September 1st, Lily took extra time with her appearance. She convinced herself that she wasn't trying to make the Head Boy like her, she merely wanted to impress him with her composure. After all, she had to wear her uniform, so it wasn't as if she could really be alluring.

As she pulled up her grey knee socks with the three red stripes, she reviewed the list of likely Head Boy candidates in her head.

There was Amos Diggory from Hufflepuff who had been asking her out for nearly as long as Potter. He was much kinder about it, though, and only tried about three times a year. She pulled a wool sweater over her white dress shirt.

Then there was the Ravenclaw Kenneth Davies, who seemed a mild-mannered lad. She didn't know much about him, except that he was bookish—not on the Quidditch team, so that was something to recommend him. She began to lace up her black Oxford shoes—she'd magicked a small, comfortable heel onto them to make up for her diminutive stature. Whoever the Head Boy turned out to be, he was bound to be at least four inches taller than her even with the heels.

There was Remus Lupin, of course, from her own house. As they had been prefects together in their 5th and 6th years, she and Remus had become friends and study partners, despite his status as a Marauder. He was kind and funny, and had the good sense to tell his mates to leave her alone before she hexed them all into next year.

As she fixed her hair, fastening part of it with a barrette in the back, she considered the last possible candidate: Slytherin's own Severus Snape, a Death Eater in training and her former best friend. Everyone berated Lily for being chummy with him in the first place, and now she couldn't help but agree with them. She thought it would be simply cruel of Dumbledore to pair her with Sev, knowing their history, but she couldn't hope to predict what went on in the headmaster's deviously brilliant mind.

She stopped to consider her final appearance. She looked quite put-together. Never one to be too feminine, she had applied only mascara and tinted lip balm, giving her a freshly scrubbed look. Her clothes were neat, but not too neat—the tails of her white shirt were showing under the grey of her sweater, so that the grey of her pleated skirt did not merge seamlessly with the top of her body. The skirt was a good length on her, stopping a couple of inches above the knee. Her socks emphasized her toned legs, and somehow made the skirt seem shorter, though it covered a decent amount. She was altogether pleased with herself, and suspected the Head Boy would be, too.

Merlin, she hoped it would be Remus.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello, my dears! Sorry it's been a while since I posted a new chapter for The Man Behind The Mask. Here is the next installment, in which Lily comes closer to discovering who her fellow Head Student is...

Disclaimer: Characters are JK Rowling's, everything else (including the limerick!) is mine.

- Lorraine

* * *

A couple of hours later, her parents dropped her off at King's Cross Station. She blew kisses to her mother and father, ignoring Petunia as summarily as Petunia was ignoring her—her sister was staring moodily out of the back window of the car, narrow nose elevated in haughtiness. Lily sighed internally, wondering where the days of sisterly affection had gone. She decided not to dwell on it, though, and led her trunk in the direction of Platform 9¾.

Once she had emerged through the barrier, she kept an eye out for any of the likely Head Boy candidates. As it was still an hour and a half before the train was due to leave, not many students were milling about. After nodding and smiling at a few acquaintances, she spotted Davies leaning against a wall, book in hand.

His concentration was so deep that she hesitated to disturb him, but she had to ask. He wasn't wearing the badge, but perhaps he just didn't want to show off. When she was a few feet away, she coughed gently. As she had worried, he jumped a bit, and searched for the intruder. When his eyes caught on her flaming hair he relaxed and gave her a small smile.

"Hey, Lily. Had a good holiday?"

"Kenneth, it's good to see you! Yeah, mine was alright. Mostly uneventful. You?"

"Same here. By the look of it, at least the end of your summer was more exciting than mine." He said, pointing at the gleaming silver _HG _emblazoned on her badge.

"Oh, that, yeah. It's really exciting! Wait, 'more exciting than yours…' You mean, you didn't get it?"

"No. I think I'm a bit too mild-mannered to really lay down the law. I'll still be prefect, though, so we'll see a bit of each other."

"Yes, I s'pose. I really thought Dumbledore would give it to you, Kenneth, I'm sorry."

"S'alright. I'm better off not dealing with all that Head Boy stuff on top of all my extra classes. You'll do great, I'm sure."

"Thanks. That's really sweet of you. I don't suppose you know who the Head Boy might be?"

"Well, if not me, the other likely candidate is Diggory, isn't it?" She nodded. "I don't think he got it, though. His aunt is good friends with my mum, and she would've been bragging about her 'ickle Amos' for a fortnight." Lily's face screwed up in consternation. "Sorry, I don't really know. Maybe Remus Lupin?"

"Yes, that's what I'm hoping. He doesn't seem to be here yet, though, so I can't ask. The suspense is killing me!" She laughed. "Anyways, sorry again, Kenneth. It was lovely talking to you. I'll see you on the train for the prefect meeting, yeah?"

"You certainly shall. Congratulations again, Lily."

They smiled at each other, and he went back to reading his book—_Crime and Punishment_ by the looks of it—as she walked away.

The train would be arriving in about 20 minutes, so the students could start loading their luggage, but for now there was nothing to do but wait. She rolled her trolley over to a bench near a newsstand—she ignored the offers of _Daily Prophet_s and _Quibbler_s for sale—and sat down, lost in her thoughts.

She always wished that some of the professors would come to London on September 1st, or at least Hagrid. Then she would always have someone to talk to. Of course, they were all busy at Hogwarts, readying the school for the influx of hundreds of students. The house-elves weren't the only ones who had preparations to make.

Thinking of preparations, she began to wonder what her job as Head Girl would entail. She was friendly with last year's Head Girl, Alice Creevey—Longbottom now, probably—but they were not on such good terms that they would chat very often about their lives. She knew from Alice that it was "a bloody lot of work, but it's really ace when the work turns out." Lily wasn't worried about the workload, really. She'd learned to handle that sort of thing long ago. She was a bit apprehensive of the social aspect of the job, though. She thought she'd be able to organize the prefects well enough, as they were all fine upstanding youths like herself; and she had years of practice at telling students off for pranking and generally causing a fuss. When it came to arranging Hogsmeade visits and organizing dances, on the other hand, she was a novice.

She was woken from her reverie by a loud crash behind her, followed by raucous laughter. Her eyes narrowed automatically: she recognized those voices. She turned round to face two of her least favorite people: Sirius Black and James Potter.

As if James could sense her scowl, he sobered up as soon as he recognized her. Sirius, still chuckling, rolled his eyes how whipped his best mate was. "Aww, c'mon, Evans, we were just having a laugh. Look, we didn't even break anything this time!"

She quickly surveyed the area around the young men, where they had just materialized from the brick pillar that was the entrance to the platform. Indeed, they seemed to have done no more damage than to have attracted every eye towards themselves—and of course, this was the aim of the loud _BANG!_ that had issued from Sirius' wand.

"Right. Well, don't make a habit of it—"

"—It's already a habit of ours, Evans, in case you haven't noticed. We're the Marauders. We've been pranking since the you found out you were a witch in the first place."

"—_this year,_" she ploughed on, "because I'm Head Girl." She straightened herself up to her full 5 feet and one inch—5'3" with the heels—and placed her hands on her hips.

"Sorry, what was that?" Sirius had been examining his well-manicured nails. "Head Girl, did you say? Cor, I didn't see that one coming at all. Pardon me if we" he put an arm around James' shoulders "aren't going to kowtow to the all-powerful glorified hall monitor." James ruffled his hair nervously. "Right, Jamesiepoo? Oi, James, why has your face gone all red? If it's really that important to you I won't call you Jamesiepoo in public. Really, though it's all in good fun…" James was still staring at his feet.

As both Lily and Sirius were looking at James strangely, a third boy came from behind the other two.

Lily noticed him first. "Hullo, Peter."

The short, stocky boy with mousy hair and dark brown eyes grinned at her and have a nervous laugh. If she hadn't yet convinced Black and Potter that she was a force to be reckoned with, at least Peter was somewhat frightened of her, thought Lily.

"'Lo, Lily. Prongs, Padfoot. Hey, what's wrong with Prongs? Has she already turned him down?" he asked, jerking a thumb towards Lily. "Blimey, that was fast."

"Wormy! Marvelous to see you, mate. But no, we don't know what's gotten into James. He hasn't asked her out yet—I know, seems like it's a record: he's been in Evans' presence for 5 whole minutes without smothering her with his affections." Peter was standing by James now, alternately waving a hand and snapping his fingers in front of the boy's bespectacled face. "He hasn't serenaded her, or professed his undying love, or even read the limerick I wrote for him to use! Rude of him not to take advantage of my hard work, really. It's quite good, in my humble opinion. Would you like to hear it? Ahem, here it goes: _There once was a young lass named Lily, whom we'd love to buy knickers so frilly_—"

"Yeah, thanks, Pads, I'm snapped out of it!" James interrupted, blushing again. He grinned sheepishly at Lily. "Sorry, Lils, you know how he gets…"

Not amused, Lily huffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. I'm warning you lads, no funny business this year. As Head Girl I can give detention, and don't think for a moment that I'll be sympathetic about Quidditch practice." Her stern look was lost on Sirius, who had an affronted look on his face at having been interrupted. "Have any of you seen Remus? I still don't know who the Head Boy is, and the only two likely people I can think of are him and Se—Snape."


	4. Chapter 4

**EDIT ON JANUARY 20, 2012: Alright, I just noticed that there was a chapter missing in here... so I added it to the beginning of what was Chapter 4. I don't know how that happened, but it means I've got some maintenance to do. It's also drawn my attention to the fact that it has been FOREVER since I updated with new content, so I promise to get cracking on that ASAP. Sorry for the confusion and lack of new material.**

**- Lorraine**

* * *

**CHAPTER 3**

James opened his mouth to reply but Sirius was first to speak. "Remus isn't Head Boy."

"How do you know?" Came three simultaneous responses. Lily seemed disappointed, James nervous, and Peter confused—as usual.

"Well, he would've told us, wouldn't he? He is our best mate, after all, and that would be big news. It could be really helpful in getting us out of trouble when we get caught for a prank."

James noticed Lily's raised eyebrow and tried to cover for Sirius. "What he meant to say was that it could be really helpful in getting us to quit pranking, to make it easier for Remus…"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Honestly, Prongs, you think she's going to believe that? After all this time? We haven't changed, and Evans is sharp enough to know when you're lying. At least give her that much credit."

"Thanks, Black. I think. But don't you assume that your flattery will spare you from my wrath as soon as I find you've laid a single toe out of line," said Lily stonily.

"Well, you know what they say about assuming," Sirius responded with a wink.

"Indeed. So are you sure Remus isn't Head Boy? Because it's a general rule of mine not to trust anything a Marauder says—unless that Marauder is Remus, of course. Also, this time, I really hope you're wrong."

Finally able to interject, James spoke quickly: "He's not wrong."

Lily groaned. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," said James, a smile emerging on his nicely curved lips. "Because I'm Head Boy."

After a few seconds of silence, Sirius burst into guffaws. Lily and Peter, not sure whether to stare, unbelieving, at James or to join Sirius, soon opted for the latter.

"Good one, Potter! You, Head Boy? Leader of the Marauders made Head Boy. I guess you are good for a laugh sometimes," said Lily breathlessly.

With his three companions laughing—Sirius was rolling around on the platform at this point—James stood there with a neutral expression on his face, and pulled something from the pocket of his robes. He held it out to Lily, and she gasped.

"You weren't kidding? Oh, Merlin."

When they spied the shining silver badge, Peter and Sirius had become silent. Now Sirius uttered a very loud "WHAT?"

Ignoring him, James spoke to Lily. "I assume that was an 'Oh, Merlin' meaning 'Oh, thank Merlin the devilishly handsome James Potter is the Head Boy to my Head Girl!'?"

"Pah! Sirius can tell you what they say about assumptions. No, it was an 'Oh, Merlin' as in 'Oh, Merlin, Dumbledore has finally lost it.'"

"PRONGS! HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL US ABOUT THIS?" came from below, where Sirius was still lying on the ground.

Still disregarding his mate, James continued. "But Lily, I'll be a fantastic Head Boy! After all, I'm fantastic at everything else I do, right? I see no reason for my streak to end now. You can't deny that I am both lovely and talented."

"Oh, I certainly could deny that, Potter. But I don't have nearly enough time to give you all the evidence against yourself." James' face fell a little, but Lily didn't notice. She was in shock, and she didn't know how she was feeling. She was angry and incredulous about Dumbledore's choice of partner for her—namely her nemesis and tormentor for six years running—and she was now dreading the coming year. There was a small part of her that was amused, because this news could not exactly have brightened James' holiday; but that was a very, very small part of her. As she stood there pondering her fate, she realized that the train had arrived and that students were beginning to load their luggage and board the Hogwarts Express.

She checked her watch and then turned to James, her attitude now brusque. "It's ten o'clock. The train should be leaving in an hour, so we should meet in the Prefects' carriage in half an hour to discuss plans for the first meeting. The Prefects have been instructed to arrive at 10.45 so they—and ourselves—can help the last stragglers on board. Then we patrol on the train until 11.15, at which time the official first meeting will commence. As soon as we finish with that, you can do whatever you like until we reach the station at Hogsmeade."

James had listened to Lily's business talk with as much concentration as he could muster, what with Peter gaping at him from the left and Sirius yelling at him from the right. When she had finished, he addressed her promptly: "See you in 30 minutes then, Lily."

She nodded curtly, a bit surprised that he hadn't attempted any wisecracks, and turned to walk towards the baggage compartment.

* * *

Twenty-five minutes later, baggage loaded, Lily Evans could be found furiously pacing the Prefects' compartment, muttering to herself.

"Dumbledore's gone out of his mind! Potter wasn't even a Prefect! Hell, he's a Marauder, that's the antithesis of a Prefect. He'll just use this to get his moronic mates out of trouble, and take away as many points as possible from Slytherin. And he probably won't even come to the meetings! I'll have to patrol by myself. Even if by some miracle Potter does acknowledge his responsibilities this year—fat chance—he doesn't have any time, really, as he's Quidditch Captain. McGonagall will have his head if he doesn't win her the Cup, so she'll just expect me to pick up his slack. And even Dumbledore wants Gryffindor to win! So he won't help." Lily shoved her hands into her hair and yelled at the ceiling. "Gahhh, how could Dumbledore do this to me? How could he do this to Potter?" Lily was so concentrated on her rant that she failed to notice when a certain lanky, bespectacled, jet-haired boy walked into the compartment.

"Never mind us, how could he do this to McGonagall? I bet old Minnie threw a bloody fit when she found out, to the extent that she could do that sort of thing."

Lily had abruptly whirled around when he spoke, and was now looking at him, her cheeks red and hair mussed. James thought she looked ravishing. He was about to tell her so when he thought better of it, choosing to address her more seriously.

"Look, Lily, I know we haven't been on the best of terms…"

"That's an understatement if ever I heard one. And it's Evans to you."

"Yes, well, that's sort of what I've been meaning to speak to you about. Obviously, you don't think this is an ideal pairing, and, frankly, I'm not too chuffed to spend an entire year rooming with someone who wants to eviscerate me. So, I thought maybe we could start over? Be friends—or at least be friendly? Maybe starting by calling each other by our first names?" She didn't seem convinced, so he tried again. "We're going to be spending a lot of time together this year…"

She groaned. "Don't remind me."

"…and I know you're not looking forward to it, but I also know that you're a nice person, and I promise that I'm a decent bloke, so I think we can manage to at least be civil. I promise not to ask you out, if you promise not to hex me. What do you say, Lily?"

Lily stared at him for a long moment, and apparently found him to be sincere. "Alright, Pot—James," she corrected, extending her hand. He took it. "You've got yourself a deal."

He smiled a genuine smile, and clapped his hands together. "Right. So. Prefect meeting. How does that work exactly? Remus has told us about them, but I tend to tune him out, so…"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Basically, we just need to establish a patrol schedule for the first month of school. After that, things change around, since there will be Quidditch practices and club activities. We have a meeting every month, to check in with the Prefects and rearrange schedules if need be. The first month should be the easiest, since there are the least conflicts." Noticing that James still looked confused, Lily realized she'd have to go back to the basics. "Patrols work like this: we make the rounds every night, in pairs, from an hour before curfew to an hour after curfew. There are six Prefects from every house, two from 5th year, two from 6th year, and two from 7th year. This means that there are twenty-four Prefects in total, and two of us. I think it makes the most sense to have everyone patrol one night of every two weeks, and we patrol once a week."

"You're _volunteering_ to spend two hours a week with me? Who are you and what have you done with Lily Evans?" James asked cheekily.

Lily blushed and rolled her eyes. "I know it's not the best set-up, but it doesn't seem fair to give others the extra work when we have the most responsibility."

Though he admired her sense of duty and smiled inwardly, externally he complained: "Fair, shmair! You're quite right, we have the most responsibility, and therefore the most power. Didn't you ever watch Spiderboy, or whatever? We get to tell them what to do!"

"You're _passing up_ the opportunity to spend two hours a week with me? Who are you and what have you done with James Potter?" Lily countered, causing James to blush this time. "It's Spider_man_, actually, and while we do have the power to boss them around, we also have the decency to take one for the team. Or we should," she finished, glaring at him.

"Right, sorry, okay. So we just get them all to choose a night every two weeks? That doesn't seem so complicated."

"Well, the tricky part is arranging the pairs."

"Why do we have to arrange them? Can't we let them each choose a partner? Or just have them go with their Housemate from their same year?"

"No, that wouldn't work. First of all, that would just increase the sense of House loyalty and therefore House rivalry, and that won't do. Also, we should try to pair the younger Prefects with upperclassmen who have more experience."

"Blimey, that will be complicated. No one will want to work with Snivellus, no matter how much _experience_ he has. He's a dubious git, that one is." Lily tried to scowl at him, but couldn't quite stop one side of her mouth from quirking into a half-smile.

"Indeed," she said, checking her watch. "It's almost 10.45 now, so we should go help students load their bags and then patrol the train. The Prefects know to do the same, and then we'll all meet back here at 11.15."

"Righto, Cap'n Lily!" James saluted, and turned to the door. Lily rolled her eyes at his back, fighting the urge to giggle.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi guys. I'm really it's been so long since my last update (again), I've just been super busy with school shenanigans. Things should be calming down, now, and as long as the Muse cooperates, I'll be writing much more often. For those of you still here, thanks for sticking around, and I hope you enjoy this latest installment of The Man Behind The Mask!**

**Love,**

**Lorraine**

* * *

**CHAPTER 5**

Six hours later the Hogwarts Express was pulling into Hogsmeade station. The Prefect meeting had long since let out, the patrols having been scheduled smoothly. The pairings had not been too difficult, especially since Remus had volunteered to go with Snape, who grudgingly obliged—Potter's offer to switch and become Snape's partner himself had probably influenced the Slytherin's decision.

Though Potter had suggested that Lily and himself stay in the Prefect's compartment and plan for the upcoming year, Lily had declined. She and Potter were getting on surprisingly well, but she didn't think it could last. Plus, she hadn't seen her best friend, Lucy Perkins, for the better part of three weeks, and she needed someone to moan with her about Dumbledore's appointment of Potter as Head Boy.

Around noon, the two Head Students had gone their separate ways to meet up with their respective partners in crime, only emerging at 4.45 to walk the length of the train and remind students that they would be arriving soon.

As she disembarked from the train with Lucy, Lily's eye found the Marauders several metres ahead of them on the platform. As if he could feel her eyes on him, Potter turned around and winked at her (some habits die hard), simultaneously bringing a blush and a scowl to Lily's face, and a smirk to Lucy's.

"Well, I guess some things never change, huh Lils?"

Lily frowned at her best friend. "If you mean the fact that James Potter remains an incorrigible arse, then you are quite correct."

"Actually, I meant the fact that you never fail to blush when he winks at you."

"Shut up, Luce! I am not blushing. It's just…brisk out here, that's all."

"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say." After a thoughtful pause, Lucy continued. "You know, the reason he won't stop harassing you is because he can tell you're at least a smidge interested. If you weren't, then you wouldn't blush. Simple."

"I am _not_ a smidge interested! Not a smidge, or a mote, or even an atom," she ignored her pureblood friend's puzzlement at the Muggle science term, "thank you very much. Plus, Potter can't tell from ten metres away that I'm blushing. It's not like he's superhuman or something."

"Mmm, I dunno hun, his abs are pretty out of this world. And the eyes are rather divine." She paused, appreciating the mental image. "You lucky strumpet, you get to live in the same room with that abs-plus-eyes combo! For a whole year!"

Lily rolled her eyes and laughed darkly, saying: "Hey, Luce, he's all yours if you'd care to take him off my hands."

"You ungrateful trollop!" Lucy was known for using creative and often archaic insults. The girl was far too well educated for anyone else's good. "Why would you give that up?"

"Other than the fact that I've been _trying_ to give it up for about four years now?"

"Right. I always manage to forget how bloody stubborn and blind you are over summer hols." Lucy continued in a radio-announcer voice: "Well, folks, another year at Hogwarts has finally begun, as the headstrong Head Girl Lily Evans rejects the advances of the hedonist Head Boy James Potter…"

Lily snorted, "Good alliteration, Luce."

Lucy smiled charmingly. "You know I try."

The two girls linked arms and strolled towards the carriages, chattering all through the ride to the castle.

Soon enough they reached the Great Hall and took their seats at the Gryffindor House table. Seeing the familiar levitating white tapers and golden cutlery, Lily smiled widely to herself. It was good to be back. Much as she might complain about Potter, she knew that he had gotten past the stage of trying to ruin her life just for the fun of it. She was confident that they could accomplish being civil—maybe even being friends, as long as she didn't have to put up with Black as part of the bargain—and she admitted to herself that having a pleasant relationship with Potter would be a nice change.

Lucy interrupted her musings with an elbow to the ribs, indicating that the Sorting was about to begin. Lily watched happily as the forty new first years sat down at the House tables one by one. She frowned when she noticed that she was one of very few Gryffindors who cheered for the new Slytherins, but she was too caught up in memories to really care.

* * *

**SIX YEARS EARLIER**

_Standing in a crowd of other anxious eleven-year-olds, she was sure that none of them was as nervous as she was. As far as the pre-pubescent Lily Evans knew, she was the only muggle-born at Hogwarts. She had never met another wizard except for Severus Snape, and he came from a magical family, so she assumed that everyone else was as well._

_Lily stood there dreading her turn at the Sorting Hat when she felt a hand at her elbow. She turned, a panicked look in her eyes, sure that someone was going to tell her, "I'm sorry, Miss Evans, but there's been some mistake. You don't belong here after all…" Instead, her anguished green eyes met with a pair of warm, engaging hazel ones. The black-haired boy to whom the eyes belonged smiled at her encouragingly, and she was comforted by the way his eyes crinkled behind his slightly lopsided glasses._

"_Don't worry," he said. "You're going to be great."_

_Though she didn't know whether he was talking about the Sorting or about school or about life in general, Lily greatly appreciated this boy's kindness. She rewarded him with a grateful smile just as she heard her name called. Her face blanched and she whipped around to face McGonagall, half ready to run all the way back to the Hogwarts Express and hide until it returned to London. However, her new friend, the bespectacled boy, gently pushed at the small of her back, and somehow this was enough to make her go on._

_Lily slowly made her way through the crowd of students and up to the small stool next to the Transfiguration Professor—who was somewhat less intimidating up close—and sat down. Self-conscious, she crossed her ankles and tucked her flaming hair behind her ears, and the Sorting Hat was placed on her head._

_Though she knew this hat could talk—after all, it had been placing her fellow students in Houses for the past fifteen minutes—Lily was surprised when it began speaking to her._

"_Ah, a muggleborn. Always the most challenging, and I can see that you will be even more so. You could certainly prove yourself in Ravenclaw, my dear, I can tell that you will exceed in your studies if you put your mind to it. Yes, you are very determined. That would serve you well in Slytherin, too. And indeed, you are quite brave and outgoing, traits that are inherent to Gryffindors. Yes, Miss Evans, you are quite talented. But where to put you?" It was as if Lily could feel the hat prodding around in her head, searching for something to tip the scale. After several seconds of silence, the voice piped up again. "Aha! I believe I have found your greatest strength," the hat said, smugly. Lily hoped that it would tell her she had superior magical powers, like flight or invisibility—after all, she had very little idea how the Wizarding World worked—so that she might fit in a little better, but what the hat told her next was not a physical ability. "Love, Lily Evans, will be your crowning glory. And that squarely places you in GRYFFINDOR!"_

_Lily felt the hat being lifted from her head, and she looked up to see Professor McGonagall giving her a smile—Lily would remember it especially fondly when she found out how rare an occurrence this was. She stood up and scanned the crowd in front of her, beaming. The boy with the mop of jet-black hair was grinning and giving her two thumbs up. She winked at him, and skipped over to the Gryffindor table._

_She watched the rest of the Sorting attentively, waiting to find out the name of the boy who had helped her face her fear. Finally, she heard McGonagall call "Potter, James" and he walked casually up to the dreaded stool, looking as if he hadn't a care in the world. Lily marveled at his nonchalance, and was surprised when the hat took only seconds before it roared out GRYFFINDOR!_

_James was all smiles as he came over and sat diagonally across from her at the table. He looked at her as if to say "See? I told you." As he looked at her, suddenly Lily Evans had the overwhelming feeling that, with the help of James Potter, she could feel safe and at home in being a witch. And that meant the world to her._

* * *

**END FLASHBACK**

As Lily reminisced about the rest of her Hogwarts career—including the time when her savior James became her tormentor Potter, and when her friend Sev became her enemy Snape—that first night particularly stood out to her, and one thought plagued her above all others: the old James couldn't really be gone for good, could he?

* * *

**Thoughts? I really do want to hear them. As redundant as it might be to say so, reviews are GREATLY appreciated! Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Yowza! It's been a while, huh? Sorry about that. I had a good chunk of time this weekend to write, so I've got one chapter each for this story and for Two Birds With One Stone. I'm sorry that I don't have more to offer for such a long sabbatical... I do have some good ideas for the next bit, though, so I'll try to update soon!**

**That said, I hope you enjoy this chunk of TMBTM... the plot is thickening.**

**- Lorraine**

**Oh, and I own nothing, as usual.**

**P.S. About the update on July 1, 2011: I made a quick edit to the ending section of this chapter, because one anonymous reviewer of this story had a really good point: Tom Riddle definitely wasn't at school with Lily and James. I think it's reasonable to guess that he could have been there with James' parents, though, so that's the change I made. Thanks for the fact-checking! Love you guys! And I'm working on a new chapter right now... so I'll try to get it up this weekend.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 6**

The first few weeks of term went by with little to note. Classes were the same as usual, though Lily thought that Transfiguration was a bit easier and Potions was a bit harder—probably because she was now paired with James in both classes. Much to Lily's chagrin, the teachers seemed to think that their Head Students needed to spend even _more_ time in one another's company.

Lily and James were both adjusting to another facet of their newfound partnership: the Head Dorms.

Though James would immediately say that he loved living with Lily, that it just gave him more opportunities to get to know her—which was his favorite pastime (in a completely non-stalkerish way, of course)—he couldn't help but miss the Gryffindor boys' dormitory. For the past six years he had been living in the same room with his three best friends, (their other year-mate, Mitchell Blake, had transferred to Beauxbatons in their third year. This change may or may not have had something to do with the fact that he could never wake up without finding something disgustingly gooey in his slippers, or being politely informed by their charmed mirror that his eyebrows were missing) and he wasn't quite used to the quiet and the comparative neatness that came of his solitary lifestyle. Sure, he still got up to plenty of pranks with the lads, and they saw each other at meals and in classes, but living separately definitely cut into their time spent together. If James just wanted to hang out with the other Marauders, he had to trek all the way to the noisy Gryffindor common room, as Lily had expressly forbidden him to give out the password to the Head Dorms, threatening to "pluck out every last one of those unruly black hairs if I so much as catch a whiff of any of those dumb mates' over-applied cologne." Knowing that she was fully capable of living up to this warning, James had kept the password to himself.

For her part, Lily was holding up remarkably well in the new living situation. Of course she missed Lucy, but, after all, the girls had ever been the gossipy, lip-glossed, attached-at-the-hip type of best friends. They still saw each other every day, and Lily had given Lucy the password to the Head Dorms—James was far more tolerant of Lily's friends than she was of his, perhaps because he knew that Lucy wanted Lily to give him a chance—so they still had regular opportunities to catch up. Also, Lily had to hand it to him, James was being far less of a nuisance than she had expected. He performed his Head duties with minimal grumbling, and they had curtailed their daily quarrels to about two mini-spats, as opposed to previous years when they'd yelled and hexed each other till they were blue in the face during every passing period. He was even good about picking up his things in their shared common room. As far as Lily could tell, James didn't even have any annoying habits to speak of (other than the hair-ruffling, which she'd known about for years, and was really starting to grow on her). She noticed that he sometimes hummed to himself while he worked, when he was concentrating especially hard; when she was convinced that he was entirely distracted, she would try to harmonize with him (he noticed, of course, and started doing it more often).

All in all, life was pretty good for the two Head Students. Unfortunately, the morale elsewhere in the castle, and outside of the Hogwarts grounds, morale was lower than ever. There was constant fear and angst about the war-like atmosphere being churned up by Lord Voldemort and his followers. The situation was hard to believe.

This man (now more of a monster, with his made-up name), this Tom Riddle, had been a seventh year when James' parents had been at Hogwarts, and now he was killing scores of people every week? How could it be? Where were the officials to rein him in? Now, more than ever before, there were calls for Dumbledore to become Minister of Magic; after all, people said that he was the only one whom Riddle ever feared. The Headmaster remained steadfast, however, insisting that the best course of action would be to protect and educate a new generation of witches and wizards who would eventually take down the evil Dark Lord and his loyal Death Eaters. And most Hogwarts students were proud to take up the charge, proud to count themselves among the ranks of what some had taken to calling "Dumbledore's Army," but this didn't mean they were any less scared of what awaited them outside the castle walls.

James in particular had noticed this fear among his fellow students because two of the people he loved most stood to lose quite a bit in this upcoming war. Remus, of course, was a werewolf, and though he was _very_ good at hiding things—including his lycanthropy—he couldn't fool his best friends. James knew that Remus was a brave soul, and that he'd do anything to help fight this Voldemort person (if he was really a person), but he also knew that the boy lived in constant fear that he would be scouted out by Dark forces to be a weapon—after all, there were werewolves known to be Death Eaters, and a young, impressionable, and magically talented werewolf would be all the more valuable.

And then, there was Lily. Lily Evans, the brilliant witch who outranked everyone—excepting the Marauders, Severus Snape, and Roger Davies—in all of her classes, the outspoken advocate for the rights of all creatures, was also Lily Evans, the muggleborn, who was scared out of her wits that her family would be Voldemort's next target. Of course, to Tom Riddle, she was merely Lily Evans the mudblood. James saw red every time he even thought about that phrase, especially in association with his favorite Head Girl.

Since he spent so much time with these two afflicted persons, James Potter was acutely aware that he needed to do something to raise the morale of his fellow students. He and the Marauders had done their best to entertain the Hogwarts population, but even when they had teamed up with Peeves to thwart the Slytherins—by means of Permanent Sticking Charms to keep them at their seats in the Great Hall while Peeves pelted them with Unremoveable Dye Tablets (in flashing red and gold, of course)—only about half of the students had so much as chuckled. He knew that the usual pranks wouldn't do the trick this time, but, luckily, he was Head Boy. And he'd be damned if he just sat around and waited for somebody else to provide cheer—after all, he wasn't permanently stuck to his seat, or anything.

And so, James Potter, the former slacker extraordinaire and current Marauding Prince of Hogwarts, decided to hold a ball.

* * *

**Not to beg, but... please, _please, _PLEASE review! I'll love you forever! (Not a lie.)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Well, would you look at that? A relatively quick update! How on earth did I do that?**

**Anyways, yeah, I'm making more of an effort to be timely, because reviewers keep telling me to post faster. Hopefully this will encourage more of you to review...? (My fingers are crossed. It makes typing very difficult.)**

**So, as usual, I hope you enjoy this chapter of The Man Behind the Mask and, as usual, none of these characters or places are mine.**

**- Lorraine**

* * *

**CHAPTER 7**

When James told Lily about his idea to hold a ball, she'd laughed at him.

"What?" he'd asked, somewhat indignantly. "If I'm the one throwing the party, it'll be great. Obviously. There will be fancy invitations, and dancing, and _food_! We'll have puddings, and pies, and rum soufflés… What could go wrong?"

Still chuckling, Lily was reminded of a song she'd known as a girl, and she told him so.

"You know, you sound exactly like a character in a musical I used to watch."

"What was musical?" James asked, confused. "That's just an adjective."

"No, no, a musical is a kind of play that has songs and dancing in it. One of them, called Cinderella, has a song about a prince who's giving a ball. They list all sorts of preparations: food, clothes, invitations, all kinds of things."

James was intrigued by this "musical" idea. He asked Lily to explain it in more detail.

"Well, these two guys, Rodgers and Hammerstein, wrote songs to fit the story of an old fairytale called _Cinderella_, and they made it into a stage production," she said, simply.

"_Cinderella_? That's an odd title. What's it about?"

"You, the boy who grew up with some spiel about _Babbity Rabbity and Her Cackling Stump_, think that _Cinderella_ sounds weird?" she raised her eyebrows. "But I'm surprised you don't know about _Cinderella_. I guess Muggle fairytales are really different from Wizarding ones. Anyways, it's about a poor girl called Cinderella whose evil stepmother won't let her have any fun. One day, the stepmother takes her two daughters (who are also evil) to a ball that's being held by the prince so he can find a girl to be his wife. Cinderella wishes she could go to the ball, so her fairy godmother turns up and uses magic to give her a gown and a carriage and attendants, and sends her off to the ball. She meets the Prince, and he is instantly infatuated with her, and, long story short, they live happily ever after."

"What's this 'fairy godmother' nonsense? There aren't witches like that, who just show up to help people go to parties. That's not how magic works," James said, scoffing.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Well, remember, James, Muggles don't actually think that witches exist… So in their minds magic could definitely be used for stuff like that."

"What, _you_ thought that? When you were younger, you wished that you could have someone use magic to get you pretty _clothes_? There are so many better things that you can do with it!" James said, incredulous.

"Yes, obviously I know that _now_, James. But sure, when I was a little girl of course I wished that my fairy godmother would come and help me meet my Prince Charming." James frowned, not believing that this strong, independent Lily Evans could ever have been so silly. As if reading his mind, Lily said, "Don't you dare say that it's silly, James Potter. That's what girls wish for, okay? They wish to wear pretty dresses and to dance with handsome men who sweep them off their feet. It's a nice dream." James was looking at her like she was crazy. She realized how dreamy she must have sounded, and she rushed to defend herself. Naïve, certainly, but nice, and I won't let you ruin it for the eight-year-old Lily that's still somewhere in here!" she finished, glaring at him.

"Alright, alright, _sorry_. I didn't mean to criticize your hopes and dreams. Does this mean you're in, though? You support my proposition to hold a ball?"

Lily considered for a moment. "Yes, I suppose so." James beamed. "On two conditions." The smile slid off his face. "First of all, you have to do half of the work. I do not want to organize this thing by myself, because it's going to be a preposterous amount of work. Second of all… I reserve the right to sing songs from _Cinderella_ at any point during our preparations. Are we clear?"

James smiled. Lily's conditions were usually much worse than those. "Sure, Lils, sounds good," he agreed, and got a small, excited smile in return.

The two Head Students decided that they should hold the ball before the winter holidays, so that people wouldn't spend their breaks worrying about who to ask or what to wear, and, James added, to give everyone time to "recover." They also agreed to invite all grades, because everybody needed to have a little bit of fun, and the older students could always party later on in their common rooms. With these details settled, James and Lily went to get their idea approved by Dumbledore.

As they walked towards the Headmaster's office, the pair discussed possible themes for the dance. Lily suggested a costume ball, but James said that would be too much like Halloween. James wanted a beach theme, proposing that they decorate the Great Hall like a seaside, but Lily vetoed this, shrewdly guessing that James just wanted to see all the girls in bikinis ("Yeah… but it's not like you would mind seeing all the blokes without shirts on, am I right?" James said cheekily. Lily had glared at him). Both concentrating, they walked on in a silence only broken by the odd suggestion of themes (including Arabian Nights, Underwater, Gender Bender, Paris in the Springtime, Garden Paradise, and, James' favorite, Nudist Colony). They reached the gargoyle without having agreed, and when Lily gave the password ("licorice snaps") it was in an exasperated tone of voice.

They climbed the spiral staircase and entered the office to find Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, smiling widely, his eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles. "Good day to you, Miss Evans, Mister Potter. To what do I owe the pleasure? I hope there is no trouble afoot." Lily shook her head. "Jolly good! If there were, I suppose James here would probably be looking a bit more guilty." He winked at the boy in question, who smiled in return, and replied.

"No, sir, no trouble at all that I'm aware of. Actually, we came to ask if you think it would be all right for us to plan an activity for the students before the winter holidays. A ball, no be precise."

Dumbledore positively beamed, and clapped once. "Oh, how splendid! I do love a good waltz. I certainly see no reason why you shouldn't hold a ball, though if you want to hold it before we let out for Christmas the planning will be a bit rushed. However, I'm sure the two of you will be able to handle it. I didn't make you Heads for nothing."

"Yes sir, I'm sure we'll manage," said Lily. "We were thinking that we'd invite all the students, too. It seems so unfair to keep the younger ones from attending such a fun activity."

"How kind you are, Miss Evans. I quite agree that everyone should be able to attend. That sounds like a wonderful idea. Have you any ideas about what sort of a ball it will be?"

"Well—" began James and Lily at the same time. James decided it would be safer to let Lily speak than to risk have her be mad at him if he should say something wrong, so he indicated that she should continue.

"Well, sir, we can't quite manage to agree on a theme… I was thinking perhaps a Parisian setting? It would be so pretty, and we could have French food, and—" James cut Lily off.

"But, Professor, don't you think that would be a bit much? I mean, the French always seem so snooty and _serious_, and we want this to just be fun. _I _thought that a sort of beach party would be a really good idea." Lily rolled her eyes

Dumbledore chuckled at the antics of two of his favorite students. They would be quite the pair someday, he was sure of it. Indeed, perhaps he could use the opportunity of the dance to push them closer to each other. He did love to show people the true meaning of romance. "Hmm, I suppose you could compromise, and have it on a Parisian beach?" James and Lily, who were now glaring at each other, seemed unlikely to agree to this bargain. Dumbledore smiled again at the fiery pair. "No? Well, let's see… it should be something with an air of mystery, I think, so that all of the students will wish to come and see it for themselves… Aha, I think I know. How about a Masquerade?"

The Head students paused their glaring contest to ponder the Headmaster's suggestion. Both of them smiled, slowly, as they considered the possibilities of such a ball.

"That sounds wonderful!" said Lily, thinking of all the elaborate Victorian-esque costumes she and Lucy could find.

"Wicked!" said James, already devising a plan to use his masked persona to finally win Lily over.

"I'm glad you think so," said Dumbledore. "It should be great fun. I do so love a good mask—especially with plenty of feathers!" He conjured one up and held it to his face. Lily and James tried not to laugh at the sight of their elderly Headmaster in a half-face mask covered in pink feathers and gold sequins, but he merely winked at them from behind the garish accessory and lowered it to set on his desk. "Ah, well, I think the two of you had better be off. After all, you've got quite a bit of planning to do! I suggest that the ball be held on Thursday, December 18th, and I shall cancel the classes on Friday. That should give the students times to gather themselves and their things before the Hogwarts Express leaves on the 20th. Enjoy your preparations, and feel free to call upon myself of any of the other professors should you need assistance! Oh, and do have a Fizzing Whizbee before you go," he added, gesturing to a bowl on a table beside the door. "Aren't they delightful? Good day!"

James and Lily left the office and descended the staircase. Neither could get the image of Dumbledore's fluffy mask out of their heads. As they reached the gargoyle, they looked at each other and burst into laughter. When they'd recovered themselves, James spoke seriously, "Lily, if I _ever_ decide to wear a mask like that, I give you full rights to hex me and then burn the offending article with Fiendfyre."

Lily nodded seriously and said, "Same goes for me." She broke into a grin, and continued, "Boy, Dumbledore's really a nutter, isn't he?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely. I guess you can't be that brilliant without having a few… quirks." Lily giggled, and James' heart stuttered. He loved that sound. "It was a good job he came up with that Masquerade idea, though, or else we'd never have agreed on a theme."

"It's true. Agreeing has never been one of our strong suits," Lily said, smiling at him.

As they continued their walk back to the Heads' Dorms to begin the arrangements for the ball, James couldn't help but be thankful that Lily had given him a blank slate this year. He was determined to use the dance to make her fall for him. _I'll just have to be suave and debonair, _he thought to himself. _No problem for the notorious James Potter! I'll be her Prince Charming. But then again, considering my history with Lily… Shite, I've got a lot of work to do. I'd better talk to the guys—I'm going to need as much help as I can get._

* * *

**The end of another chapter, with more (soon) to come. Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry, this one's a bit light on the dialogue. Hopefully you'll forgive me though, because it's about what they're all wearing to the Masquerade Ball! Yeah, that's right, get excited! This chapter was extra fun to write (and it has made me want to shop like mad), so I hope you like it. _PICTURES_ of some of the ensembles I have the gang wearing are linked on my profile.**

**Keep up the good work with reviewing, guys, I've gotten some really lovely ones lately, and it makes me look forward to updating so much more!**

**- Lorraine**

* * *

CHAPTER 8

By mid-November, the planning of the Masquerade Ball was proceeding nicely. As they'd proven since the beginning of the year, Lily and James were more than capable of working together; they'd just never taken it very seriously before. In this venture especially, though, they were determined to have every last detail turn out perfectly—neither Head student wanted to besmirch their reputation with an unsuccessful dance.

For this reason, James and Lily had set to work organizing the Ball as soon as they left Dumbledore's office that day. They made a list of what kinds of decorations they'd need, and planned to speak to Professors McGonagall and Flitwick for help with the related enchantments. They had drafted an invitation, and soon made enough copies to send to each Hogwarts student. The next evening, instead of the customary heaps of delicious food that were usually appeared on the House Tables, small envelopes materialized on each of the pupils' plates. Inside was a card adorned with gold and purple fleurs-de-lis, on which the following message was printed in an intricate script:

_Your Head Students_

_Lily Evans and James Potter_

_would like to cordially invite you to a_

_MASQUERADE BALL_

_to take place in the Great Hall_

_on Thursday, December 18__th_

_at 8 o'clock in the evening_

_Formal wear is required, including a mask of your choosing._

_Classes on Friday, December 19__th__ have been cancelled.  
_

Excited chatter immediately erupted throughout the Great Hall. The Head Students beamed at each other, and for good reason: they'd managed to put smiles back on the faces of almost every child at Hogwarts.

In the following weeks, the corridors of the castle were never free of dance-related conversation. There was gossip as to who was asking whom, and whether they were likely to be accepted; and of course all the students were frantically figuring out what to wear. The turnout for the November visit to Hogsmeade was the highest it had been in years, much to Filch's dismay, seeing as everyone wanted to visit the clothes shops in addition to getting a head start on holiday shopping.

As much as they would have liked to be immune to these trivial worries, both James and Lily were having pre-Masquerade jitters as well.

Now that the strain of planning was mostly over with, Lily had to worry about what to wear. Though she was not often one for parties or dressing up, Lily promised herself that she had to look marvelous for this ball. It was her formal debut, in a sense: she would use the dance to prove that she was mature and capable, as well as elegant and charming. Therefore, she would have to look the part of a dashing debutante, and it was proving much more difficult than she had anticipated.

Though she may not have been the most feminine girl in her year, Lily was certainly not bound to become a spinster. She had been graced with a slender form, several inches shorter than average, but with curves in all the right places. Of course, what really made her beauty memorable was her bright auburn hair, which hung down to the middle of her back, falling in loose waves. She had long bangs, parted to one side, which partially obscured her sharp viridescent eyes, always sparkling with laughter or annoyance. Lily considered the vibrancy of her hair and eyes to be at once a blessing and a curse: though she loved her unique appearance, she was not fond of being so eye-catching—it did not make her popular with girls her age, and it made her rather _too_ popular with boys.

In terms of her ensemble for the Masquerade, this presented Lily with a dilemma: she would be instantly recognizable. For a while she toyed around with the idea of dyeing her hair, but she thought that would seem dishonest, not to mention that she really did love her tresses in their natural state. Lucy insisted that there was really no point in trying to downplay her colorful curls, so she might as well play them up, "and the same goes for those pretty peepers of yours!" Rolling her eyes at her friend's antics, Lily girded herself for a long day of shopping.

As Lucy dragged her into Gladrags, whistling all the while, Lily grumbled to herself. She really did not like shopping. Hopefully she'd find one or two dresses to try on and she'd just settle for one of those, rather than make a whole exhausting day out of it. She didn't usually put too much effort into her wardrobe, but A. this was a special occasion, and B. Lucy had sworn that she wouldn't let Lily leave without buying a gown that would "make Potter's jaw drop so far that he'll be standing in a puddle of his own drool." Lily had laughed at Lucy's comment, all the while knowing that she was mostly serious about this.

They entered the store, and Lucy immediately went into fashionista mode. She told Lily to browse while she found something for herself, partly because she didn't want to smother the redhead right away, and partly because she, too, wanted to look fabulous for the ball. After trying on a few uninspiring dresses (the red was a bit too "it girl," and black was too boring), a flash of bright satin caught Lucy's eye. The garment was a vivid rust color, not unlike Lily's hair, and it was extremely smooth and cool to the touch. Its hem was a modest tea length, seemingly at odds with the low neckline and slim-fitting bodice, and Lucy immediately fell in love with it. She knew that it would make her blonde curls seem blonder and her blue eyes seem bluer, and it was undoubtedly unique. Extremely pleased with her pick, she threw the gown over her shoulder and began looking for something that would suit her best friend.

She carefully picked through the dress racks, avoiding orange and red (they would clash awfully with her hair), black and white (Lily would look even pastier), and all the bright greens (too cliché, for goodness' sake!). These criteria significantly narrowed Lucy's search, so it didn't take long for her to find The Dress. It was a floor length, dark teal velvet number, with a plunging scalloped neckline and an open back to match. There were small silver spangles on each of the shoulders and at the base of the spine, and the body of the dress was skin-tight, with a mermaid-style skirt. It was stunning, and she knew it would look simply phenomenal on Lily.

Lucy found her best friend lurking by the jewelry, and wasted no time in whisking her off to the dressing rooms. She shoved the gorgeous gown at Lily and went to try on her own outfit. While she was admiring her appearance in the mirror, she was gratified to hear a gasp of pleasure from the room next to her. Still in her russet dress, a smirking Lucy went to confer with Lily about her ensemble. When Lily pushed the curtain aside, though, Lucy couldn't decide whether to look more smug or to gape in shock as this goddess was revealed. Though her hair was a mess and she was smiling uncertainly, Lily Evans was a vision.

"Oh, Lil! You're beautiful! I can't even think of a good archaic adjective to use, and that's about as close to speechless as I can get."

Lily's smile grew more confident as she looked at her best friend. "Wow, Luce, you don't look too bad yourself. That color is perfect on you! It really brings out your eyes."

Lucy was grinning wickedly and looking at her reflection. "Girl, we are gonna be two foxy mamas as this ball! Honestly, every single guy is going to be alllll over us, and probably some of the taken ones as well."

Lily laughed at her friend, shaking her head, "Uh, Luce? Are you talking to yourself or to me?"

"Hmm? Oh, well, both I guess! Let's go buy these nifty threads, and then we can go pick out shoeeees!" Lucy disappeared into her dressing room, and Lily followed suit. An hour later, the two girls had purchased their gowns and found acceptable shoes. Now they headed back up to the castle to drop their bags off before paying a visit to the house elves in the kitchen.

* * *

For his own part, James was not particularly stressed about his appearance. He and the other Marauders had opted for the simple look: they had all invested in Muggle suits—much less troublesome and rather better-looking than bulky Wizarding dress robes, the boys agreed.

Remus' was a brown linen suit and waistcoat, under which he wore a cream-colored Oxford shirt and a dark blue tie; for shoes he wore dark brown wingtips—he hoped no one would notice they were a bit scuffed—and his half-face mask was blue and gold.

Peter, the shortest and stockiest of the four, decided that a sport coat would make him look like a chimpanzee, so he chose to wear grey pinstriped slacks and a matching vest with a muted green dress shirt, a maroon bow-tie, and a fedora (so he was a bit eccentric, so what?); his mask was so narrow that it almost looked as if someone had simply painted a burgundy stripe across his eyes.

And then, of course, there were James and Sirius, Hogwarts' resident lady-killers, both planning to be dressed to the nines in the blackest of black tuxedoes and simple Zorro-esque masks to match.

There was no question in anyone's mind about whether the Marauders would be the handsomest young men at the ball. It was an undisputed fact at Hogwarts that those four were the epitome of sexiness even in sweatpants after a sweaty Quidditch practice. So no, James wasn't worried about his appearance. What he _was_ worried about—and what his friends were desperately trying to help him with—was his inability to behave around a certain redhead, especially when she was sure to look drop-dead gorgeous. _Yep, _thought Sirius, _we've got some long nights of coaching ahead of us. Sigh. What has Prongs gotten himself into this time?_

* * *

**So I know you guys are probably going, "Wait, there was no plot in this chapter…" and I pretty much have to agree with you. But not to fear, the next update should have enough to get us caught up with the **_**very**_** beginning of this fic (which was really the middle of the story). Woo! Review, please!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, I lied, this doesn't catch us up to Chapter 1. The next one should, though! And I'm on it, I swear... I'm sorry this took so long. I'm not sure that I'm happy with how this story is going, because it seems all predictable and uninteresting, but I hope you guys are liking it. Anyways, I'll let you get on with it. Let me know what you think!**

**-Lorraine**

* * *

November faded into December, and Hogwarts was abuzz with chatter about one thing only: the Masquerade Ball. All the students who had put off finding dates or costumes were now regretting their procrastination, as all the good ones were taken. Well, all the good ones except for Lucy, Lily, and the Marauders, all of whom had excuses for going solo.

Peter was too shy to ask anyone—though he was generally handsome, kind, and funny, he felt that he didn't measure up to his best friends, and he was sure that everyone else saw him as not quite up to the Marauder standard.

Remus, too, was self-conscious, though for an entirely different reason. Remus was reluctant to befriend anyone—let alone become romantically involved—for fear that he could cause them harm. Beyond the very select few who knew about his "furry little problem," Remus kept his classmates and acquaintances at arms' length, careful never to let anything slip. He was a loner by nature, and though he was sincerely indebted to his fellow Marauders and to Lily, all of whom knew his secret, he didn't want things to get any more complicated than they had become after the Snape incident.

Sirius' motives were far less noble than his friends'. Never one to seek a permanent attachment—at least, none that involved the fairer sex—the young Master Black eagerly awaited the time of evening when the breakups began. Whether Sirius could catch the _dumper_ (enraged at her former-beau's indiscretions and determined to prove herself better than the scumbag) or the _dumped_ (enraged at her former beau's insolence and determined to prove herself better than the scurvy knave), he'd win an evening with an unstable woman who would write him off as a rebound, meaning that he'd never (or at least rarely) have to deal with the consequences of love. Sirius Black _loved_ rebounds.

Lucy didn't have a date because she wanted to be chased by as many eligible bachelors as possible. She'd refused at least six suitors—which, to her way of thinking, meant that she was saving an intimate dance with each of them—and she was sure there would be even more boys to pounce on once at the ball. She wasn't nearly as much of a whore as Sirius, but Lucy enjoyed her flings, especially since the one boy she'd come close to a real connection with was completely emotionally available. She'd given up on Remus for the time being. Then again, if he went for a dame in formal wear, all the better for her.

Lily had turned down no fewer than nine dates by the week of the ball. She refused under the pretense that she'd be no fun at the dance, as she'd have to attend her Head Duties, but there was a naggling voice in the back of her head that kept citing a different reason: the right boy hadn't asked her yet. Whenever that thought attempted to squirm into the forefront of her consciousness, Lily mentally grabbed it and shoved it back into the murky depths, unwilling to ponder the boy in question, or her own subconscious recognition of him as "the right boy." That was a dangerous line of thought to wander down.

James, obviously, didn't have a date because of Lily. He knew that at least eighty percent of the female Hogwarts population would kill to go to the ball with him—even if the murder victim was their current date—but he really had no interest in dating anyone but his favorite red head. Sure, he was extremely sexually frustrated all the time, having basically taken an oath of celibacy since the beginning of sixth year, when he'd started trying to win Lily over in earnest; and yeah, he was getting a lot of flak from his best friends, and classmates, and Quidditch teammates, for refusing the offer of even Diana Diggory, Amos' sister and indisputably the best-looking girl in the sixth year; and maybe he'd been getting less than five hours' sleep every night for the past week because he was strategizing about exactly how he would convince Lily to give him a chance; but those things didn't bother James, because his plan was going to _work_, damn it! Whatever the hell it turned out to be… He simply would not consider any other result.

And so it was finally the 7th year Gryffindors' last class on Thursday the 18th. The ball was due to start in five hours, and every student was perched on the end of his or her chair, poised to run and claim the first shower in their dormitories. Lily was trying very hard not to laugh at Lucy as she inched forward in her desk, all her school supplies having been stealthily packed away already. Lily was planning to let Lucy use the bathroom in the Head Dorms so they could get ready together, but this little display was too good to interrupt. The Head Girl snuck a look at her watch, and, seeing that there were two minutes left of the period, decided that she'd tortured her best friend for long enough. She ripped off a piece of spare parchment and scribbled: _You can use the Heads' shower if you want._ She passed it to her friend, who was now actually hovering over her chair without touching it.

Lucy snatched up the note distractedly, her ears pricked for the bell, and her eyes glued to the grandfather clock in the corner. She glanced at the crumpled missive and visibly relaxed, turning to glare at the redhead beside her. "Took you long enough to offer, huh Lils? Some best mate you are."

"I was going to tell you twenty minutes ago, but you looked so concentrated," she grinned, even as Lucy smacked her arm. "Hey! At least I offered. I could have left you to share the bathroom with five seventeen-year-old boys. Or worse with three seventeen-year-old girls." The best friends shuddered at the prospect.

The bell rang, and Lily gathered her things, Lucy sending her impatient looks and bouncing on the balls of her feet all the while. Before Lily could even fasten her schoolbag, Lucy had grabbed her hand and was racing down the corridors towards "Gryffindor tower?" asked Lily as they speed-walked toward the Fat lady. "I thought we were going to the Head Dorms."

"We _are_, silly goose, but I have to get my dress and shoes and beautification devices. I want to get in an out before the mad rush begins!" Lucy said over her shoulder as she ran up the stairs to her dorm.

Lily nodded in understanding and sank into an armchair in the common room to wait, observing the comings and goings of her fellow Gryffindors. The Marauders were ostensibly absent—as evidenced by the lack of fifth-year girls who usually huddled at the bottom of the seventh-year boys' dormitory. She assumed they were out wreaking havoc or snacking in the kitchens, but when ten minutes later she had seen neither hide nor hair of the four boys, Lily began to worry that they'd set up shop somewhere else, somewhere even _less_ convenient. _But no, Potter wouldn't dare let them without asking me first…_ Lily reassured herself, and stood up as she saw Lucy bounding down the stairs, arms full with a makeup bag, a shoebox, her gown, and a bag that looked suspiciously as if it contained lingerie.

Lily raised her eyebrows at Lucy's burden, but her friend only grinned, saying cryptically: "You'll thank me later," before marching purposefully out of the portrait hole and towards the Head Dorms, leaving a bemused Lily to follow in her wake.

A few minutes later, the two girls reached their destination. Lily gave the password (_secreta oscilla)_ and they entered, almost immediately stopping in their tracks. The Marauders (minus Sirius) were currently occupying the Heads' common room, James sprawled on the floor, Peter on one couch, and Remus perched in one of the squashy armchairs. As usual, they were laughing their arses off, but stopped when they heard Lily's cough.

"Ahem," she put her hands on her hips and fixed James with a hard glare.

"'lo, Lily, Lucy," said James, sitting up and grinning at the girls.

Lily ignored his greeting, cutting to the chase. "And what do you think _you're_ doing here?" she asked pointedly.

He frowned, bristling at her tone. "Well, I thought you would've noticed by now, Evans, but I _live_ here."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Yes, but you can't be here _now_! We've got to get ready for the ball," she said, as if it were the most obvious reason in the world.

"Yeah, and why d'you suppose we're here?" James asked angrily. HE got to his feet. "Honestly, woman, I've got just as much right to bring my friends here as you have, so just calm your arse down."

Before Lily could really get in stride, Lucy decided to intervene for the sake of her as-of-yet in tact eardrums.

"Right, that's lovely Potter. You all have fun getting pampered or sloshed or whatever your pre-party ritual is. Just stay down here, and we'll be in the bathroom." Before any of the boys could argue, Lucy dragged a fuming Lily up the stairs and went into the Head Girl's room, which was adjoined to the bathroom.

Back in the common room, three mischievous smiles had lit up the faces of Peter, Remus, and James.

"You think we should tell them?" said Peter, trying to hold back laughter.

"Nah, Wormtail, I think this is a joy that everyone should be able to discover for themelves," said Remus.

The tree boys burst into laughter. When they heard three screams from above, their mirth redoubled, and they lay howling on the floor while a rather awkward encounter took place in the bathroom upstairs.

"SIRIUS BLACK!" roared Lily, "What the bloody _hell_ do you think you're doing in my shower?"

Sirius took a moment to collect himself, cinching a green towel around his waist and attempting a devil-may-care expression. "Well, my dear Lily Flower, it would appear that I was, ahm, showering. It's a good place for that." Lily growled, and Sirius finally managed to meet her eye. He was expecting to find her glaring at him, but her gaze was in fact directed somewhere else altogether. "Why, Lily Evans! Are you staring at my _crotch_? If you'd only told me earlier…" he trailed off when she raised her fiery eyes to his face, clearly enraged.

"That is _my_ TOWEL, BLACK!" she hollered the last two words, causing the usually unruffled Sirius to wince.

Before the half-naked boy could even begin to retort (or perhaps apologize), Lily had grabbed his arm and thrown him bodily from the bathroom. Just before she slammed the door in his face, Lily yanked the towel from his waist, looked him square in the eye, and hissed at him: "and _don't _come back!"

Not one to give up so easily, Sirius shouted through the bathroom door. "Right, well, I'll see you at the ball, then, ladies! I'm sure you'll both be saving me a dance after the show you just got. Most girls would kill for less." Happy with this comeback, Sirius awaited Lily's scathing reply, and was thus a bit surprised to hear Lucy's voice instead of the bad-tempered redhead.

"Uh, Black, I'd suggest that you leave the immediate vicinity before Lily's head explodes."

"Or before I charm your hair to be as greasy as Snape's!" Lily yelled for good measure.

At the second threat, Sirius yelped and started to run down the stairs before remembering he was completely naked. _Ah well_, he shrugged_, it's nothing the guy's haven't seen before_. When he reached the bottom of the steps, Sirius was greeted for the second time that afternoon with a chorus of disgusted screams.

"What?" he said as he sat down on the couch next to Peter, who scooted over immediately, as if Sirius' nudity was a horrifying contagious disease. "Come on, lads, don't pretend you don't like what you see." He barely had time to waggle his eyebrows before three pillows hit him in the face.

* * *

**Rrrrreview, please! (I rolled my Rs there, could you tell?)**


	10. Chapter 10

**I've been listening to Imelda May while typing up this chapter, so hopefully it's got some extra pizzazz… I don't know, I was just very excited when I realized that her album is now available State-side. Pictures of the girls' shoes are up in my profile (and I **_**want**_** them!), so check that out. And, of course, enjoy this installment of The Man Behind The Mask!**

**- Lorraine**

* * *

**CHAPTER 10**

The rest of the afternoon went relatively smoothly, as the girls vacated the bathroom about an hour after their interlude with Sirius. This left time for James, Remus, and Peter to shower while Sirius stood in front of the mirror, carefully styling his hair so that it was "the perfect combination of mussed and immaculate," he informed them. To the other Marauders, it looked the same as when he woke p in the morning, but they dared not mention that on pain of death. Any derogatory comments about "The Hair" were considered the worst of all blasphemy.

Meanwhile, Lily and Lucy were holed up in the Head Girl's room, primping and occasionally succumbing to fits of giggles about how Sirius had screamed like a girl when they'd walked in on him. By six o'clock, the girls had painted and dried their nails, applied various perfumes, lotions, and blemish-removing potions, and checked their dresses over for any flaws or wrinkles. Lucy had already done her hair in an elaborate twist at the back of her neck, and was now trying to style Lily's riotous red locks into a messy bun. When the third hair elastic snapped, unable to hold the sheer mass of Lily's hair, Lucy gave up and pinned part of it aside, leaving the rest tumbling down her back. (Lily smiled; she hated having her hair up. She thought it made her head look several sizes too large.) With the hair question attended to, Lily went to begin getting dressed.

"Hey, Luce, d'you think I need a slip with this dress?" the redhead asked over her shoulder as she rummaged through her dresser drawers.

"Hmm, I don't know about a slip, Lils… but I think _these_ will do just fine."

Lily turned around to see her best friend standing with an evil grin on her face, holding up a decidedly lacy burgundy-colored panty set. To herself, Lily admitted that the undergarments were gorgeous, but outwardly she blushed and rolled her eyes.

"Lucy. Really? What need do I have of fancy underwear? Nobody's going to see it."

"Firstly, Lils, it's called _lingerie._ Second of all, it's really always better to be prepared in case you meet that special someone…" she wiggled her eyebrows, looking alarmingly Marauder-esque for a moment. Lily just scoffed and turned back to he bureau, looking for her go-to skin-toned demi bra. "Lily, come on. You'll have so much more fun tonight if you wear this!" Lily turned and raised an eyebrow. "Ugh, no, I don't mean 'you'll have more fun' as in 'you'll have more sex.' Sheesh. I just mean that you will feel fun, and sexy, and self-confident. That's the whole point of tonight, isn't it?" Lucy narrowed her eyes at Lily's pointed lack of response, and she marched over, slamming the girls' underwear drawer shut. "Lily Marie Evans. I bought these for you. You are going to wear them and you are going to like it. Understood?"

Lily recognized Lucy's 'I'm not taking no for an answer' face, and decided to accept defeat rather than run the risk of arguing with her best friend just before this momentous occasion. "Fine," she muttered, and stripped, slipping the silky material over her body before stepping across the room to her wardrobe to fetch a dressing gown. From behind her, Lucy wolf-whistled, pulling on her own cornflower blue lingerie.

By now it was almost seven, and Lily had to been in the Great Hall at 7.30, so the girls decided to get dressed and put the final touches on their ensembles. Lily carefully stepped into her velvety teal dress, stretching it over her hips and smoothing the straps on her shoulders. The back of the gown was so low that no zipper was necessary. The redhead turned to help Lucy into her rust-colored silk dress, admiring the cool texture of the fabric. She fastened the back of Lucy's gown (an elegant system of satin-covered buttons), and the blonde spun around to grin at her friend, looking her up and down before glancing at herself in the mirror.

"Hot DAMN, we are hot!" she proclaimed, fastening a glittering crystal pendant around her neck. Lily smiled at this comment, putting on her own sparkly silver earrings before stepping into her similarly spangled shoes—modest two-inch heels, the bodies of which were cut intricately so that it was like her feet were encased in silver latticework. Behind her, Lucy was enchanting her high satin pumps to match the exact color of her gown.

Thus outfitted, the girls each applied a light layer of makeup—both were secure enough with their features to go for the natural look—and turned to each other for a last once-over. They smiled, both excited and, suddenly, a bit nervous. They shared a brief hug, grabbed their purses—Lily's silver, and Lucy's gold—and masks—similar white-and-gold half-face affairs—and headed downstairs. The Marauders were, mercifully, absent by now, so the girls met no one in the Head common room. Once outside in the corridor, they clasped hands, before Lucy returned to the Gryffindor common room and Lily went to the Great Hall to survey the final preparations.

When she arrived, the sight almost took her breath away. Floor to ceiling, the Great Hall had been transformed into a gorgeous ballroom, complete with glittering chandeliers and polished wood flooring. There were several tables along two of the walls, outfitted with crisp white tablecloths and elaborate colored glass centerpieces. Surveying the room, Lily gasped when she saw the magnificent fountain that had replaced the table where the Headmaster usually sat. It was intricately sculpted from what appeared to be rose quartz, and the thin trickles of water from each of its three tiers sparkled in the incandescent lighting. She was so engrossed in the intricate carvings that she didn't hear her fellow Head arrive.

* * *

**Did you know that it's actually pretty difficult to keep track of your own stories? I had to read the beginning chapters twice to make sure Lily wasn't doing anything out of character. Oh, the things I do for you readers… Show your gratitude and REVIEW, please!**


	11. Chapter 11

**So you may have noticed that I lied when I said the latest chapter of Two Birds was going to be my last for a while... Because now I've posted two new installments of The Man Behind The Mask! That's what happens when you have 3 hours of time to kill in an airport, and then 5 more hours on the plane. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the fruits of my labors, and I hope I'll get to update pretty soon. Thanks for reading!**

**- Lorraine**

* * *

CHAPTER 11

When he spoke, James was so close that Lily jumped, turning to find him only a couple feet away. "The water's enchanted to become your favorite drink once you catch it in a glass," he said. "Strictly non-alcoholic, of course," he smiled at Lily, who was staring open-mouthed at the extremely handsome youth next to her.

"You look… Uhh, well, that is to say… Err, you clean up pretty nice, Potter," she stammered, trying not to drool as she took in his lovely Quidditch-toned body encased in a pitch-black Muggle tuxedo, crisp white shirt, and jaunty bow-tie. His hair was as messy as ever, and Lily was impossibly attracted to the boy's insousiance. She breathed in deeply through her nose, intending to clear her head, but she only served to muddle her thoughts further when she caught a whiff of his intoxicating scent, a mix of cinnamon and Bailey's Irish Cream. She closed her eyes for a moment to savor it, and then remembered that the object of her sniffing was standing right in front of her, staring at her face. She quickly looked up at James, and smiled uncertainly, unable to make eye contact.

"You're not so bad yourself, Evans." He gave her a crooked grin in return, for his own part trying not to focus on the mouthwatering expanses of Lily's creamy smooth skin that were currently on display. When he'd first walked into the Great Hall and noticed her standing near the fountain, he stopped in his tracks, shocked that the usually prim Lily would wear such a daring dress. It fit her like a dream: the clinging fabric showed off her subtle curves, and its backless nature had James nearly running for the closest cold shower; teal was fast becoming one of his favorite colors. _Merlin, she's beautiful!_ he mused inwardly, gazing at her face. He loved that she wasn't one of those birds to wear pounds of makeup; she simply wouldn't be Lily if he couldn't count the band of freckles across her cheeks and nose, and her naturally rose-colored lips were quite enticing enough without layers of tint and gloss. He detected nervousness in her bottle-green eyes, and he winked to cheer her up. His behavior only caused her to roll her eyes, but this expression was much more welcome to James—after all, it was familiar.

Unnerved by the intensity of James' gaze, Lily started to break the silence with some praise of the decorations just as Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall entered the Hall.

"Ah, Miss Evans, Mr. Potter! You make quite the handsome pair," the Headmaster exclaimed, beaming at his two Head Students—he chuckled as James grinned and Lily flushed to her roots. "I am particularly impressed, James, that you managed to do up that bowtie. I've never been able to master that particular Muggle contraption, but if I would look half so good as you I suppose it would be worth the practice." Now it was James' turn to blush, and McGonagall frowned at Dumbledore's penchant for playing favorites. As if sensing her discomfort, the old wizard turned to her, blue eyes twinkling, and laughed. "Ah, Minerva, am I being to cheerful again? I know your constitution can't stand it," the deputy Headmistress pursed her lips, and her colleague barely suppressed a grin. "Shall we move on to business?"

McGonagall nodded curtly and turned to James and Lily, looking as professional as ever in dark maroon dress robes (especially compared to Dumbledore's more extravagant costume of violet robes with swirling silver patterning from collar to hem), and speaking crisply in her light Scottish brogue. "Right. Potter, Evans, as Head Students you are required to preside over the other students and make sure that nothing is amiss. There are no specific duties that fall to you for the evening, other than to set an example in terms of conduct for your fellow pupils. As this ball was your idea, you are not expected to share the customary first dance—"

"Unless you should wish to, of course" Dumbledore interjected, earning an admonishing glare from McGonagall.

"Quite. Do either of you have any questions?" Both Gryffindors shook their heads. "Excellent," she said, checking her watch. "It is now a quarter to eight, so if you would like to go and find your friends, you may enter with the rest of the students." Lily and James, surprised that their Head of House was requiring so little ceremony, quickly withdrew before she could change her mind.

"Don't forget your masks!" Dumbledore called after them, beaming and flourishing the very one Lily and James had seen him conjure in his office. "It is, after all, a Masquerade."

"Albus, would you be so kind as to help me with the sound system?" McGonagall said sharply. Dumbledore gave them one last wink, and raised his wand to produce several large, floating gramophones. The Head Students laughed at the banter of their teachers, and exited the Great Hall.

Once in the entranceway—surprisingly still empty—James and Lily stood awkwardly for a moment, both wanting to go and join their mates, but not sure what was going on in the other's head. Finally, James spoke up. "So… save me a dance, Evans? I guess you can't help it this time, since you won't know it's me."

"I don't know, Potter, I think you'll probably stand out," Lily said, and then blushed at the implication of her statement. James raised his eyebrows, but decided not to comment. His plan _definitely_ wouldn't work if she were angry with him.

Trying to end the uncomfortable silence, both students spoke at the same time.

"Well, I ought to go find the lads—"

"I should meet Lucy—"

They laughed at themselves, and then Lily turned towards Gryffindor Tower just as James set off to the kitchens, causing them to stumble into each other. Lily gasped at the sensation of falling, but James' sturdy embrace caught her before she could do any damage. He grinned wolfishly down at her. "Watch it, Evans." She had to clench her fists to keep from grabbing his lapels and snogging the life out of him. He set her on her feet, and quickly pecked her on the temple, whispering, "You look beautiful," before smiling softly and hastening down the corridor away from her.

Before Lily could gather her thoughts, James was out of sight. She simply shook her head and walked somewhat unsteadily in the opposite direction. _It's just the shoes_, she told herself furiously. _It has nothing whatsoever to do with Potter._

* * *

**Heyyy guys, wanna review? Yeah, you do!**


	12. Chapter 12

I know what you're thinking: "Hey, you! Where have you been all my life?" To which I really have no good answer, other than the fact that I've started at college, and things have been a tad busier than usual… You should be glad to note, though, that I've really been _wanting_ to write more, I just haven't had time. But I made time today!

So, here you have it: Chapter 12 of The Man Behind the Mask, which should catch us up to Chapter 1. Plus, it's kind of long-ish! Isn't that exciting? Well, I hope so. I'll just let you read it, and you can decide for yourselves. Here you go!

- Lorraine

* * *

**CHAPTER 12**

Half an hour later, Lily, Lucy and the Marauders—along with about half of the Hogwarts student body—had entered the Great Hall. In the foyer, the girls had endured the obligatory wolf-whistles from James and Sirius, soft compliments from Remus, and cheeky winks from Peter. Now, though, the masks had been donned, effectively masking everyone's identities.

Lucy stood with Lily near the refreshments, speaking with Remus—he wasn't particularly enthused by the idea of keeping his identity a secret, as he had to do just that every day of his life—and admiring everyone's attire. While there were a few peculiar (and entertaining) choices in the fashion department—including a few people who had bewitched their masks to be faces of other people, such as the caretaker, Argus Filch—and some girls were wearing fewer clothes than they should have been, but in general the crowd was well dressed. Surprisingly, there were quite a few boys in Muggle tuxedos, though Lily was sure none of them could pull it off as well as James. That said, she couldn't actually find James at the moment, so perhaps she was wrong.

Over the next few hours, nothing particularly memorable happened. Both girls had danced with Remus and Peter, as well as a few other unknown boys, but none of their masked suitors had been especially alluring. Sirius and James had thoroughly embarrassed themselves (and loved every minute of it) when they belted out The Beatles' "Oh! Darling" to each other. Not surprisingly, they both knew all the words—after all, James loved to brag that George Harrison was a distant Squib cousin of the Potters. Sirius alternated between air-drumming and head-banging, while James was doing some odd sort of pirouette dance.

Sirius took it even further when he accosted some girl and began to serenade her with "I Want You"—fortunately for him, the maid in question seemed to enjoy his attentions. Lucy rolled her eyes at this show of vulgarity, saying, "How can he live with himself? Honestly, it's like Black is just a big, tall ego that walks and talks." Lily laughed, agreeing with Lucy but still entertained by the boy's antics. "I'm not sure who's worse, him or Potter. Where did the illustrious Head Boy get to anyways?"

Lily shrugged, scanning the room for James and not finding him. "He's probably off harassing some girl with his singular rendition of 'Let's Get It On.'"

"Now that's something I'd like to see. Lucky for me, he'll probably be over here delivering such a ballad pretty soon." Lily looked at her friend questioningly. "Oh, come off it, Lils," said Lucy. "You know he wouldn't romantically accost anyone but you! Why, I bet that in his mind, that's already _your song_." She grinned at the annoyed redhead.

"Really, Luce, don't you think James has gotten a bit less rude than that?" Lily said, refilling her glass with pumpkin juice. "Let's give him a bit of credit." Lucy forced herself not to fist pump the air. She also figured an 'I told you so' wouldn't be welcome at this stage of the game; _I'll save it for when they're snogging each other's faces off,_ she promised herself.

At that moment, Remus came over to dance with Lucy again, leaving Lily alone with her thoughts. She didn't have long to contemplate what she'd just said about James, though—why, she'd practically _complimented_ the bloke!—because a tall tuxedoed boy came over and offered her his arm. She looked at him strangely: he hadn't really _asked_ her to dance, since he hadn't spoken a word, and yet she was oddly inclined to accept him. The mystery man raised his eyebrows at her—they were dark and shapely, she noted—as if to say "Well? Are you coming?" She mentally shrugged, thinking: _This is what a Masquerade Ball is about, after all. What could it hurt?_

She looped her arm through his, and he led her towards the center of the dance floor. As he grasped her hand in one of his, and slid his spare arm around her waist, Lily noticed that the song playing was one of her favorites: "L-O-V-E" by Nat King Cole. It reminded her of her father: they had danced to it at her sister's wedding the year before. She opened her mouth to voice her thoughts to this stranger, but when she met his eyes she was struck dumb. He was looking at her with such intensity—and yet such gentleness—that she completely lost her train of thought.

The eyes in question were a gorgeous, sparkling hazel, and they seemed somehow familiar to Lily. She berated herself for trying to identify her partner—after all, the name of the game tonight was Mystery. The pair gently swayed to the lilting tones of Nat King Cole, the boy never taking his eyes off Lily's. For her part, Lily quickly stopped trying to make conversation, as her thoughts got muddled every time she met his gaze.

With no talk to distract her, Lily had the opportunity to revel in the _feel_ of dancing with this man. He was just about the perfect height, falling on the tall side of the spectrum, but not so tall that she had to crane her neck to make eye contact. His shoulders were broad, his arms strong, and his hands large—her own petite one was completely enveloped in his warm grasp. He was an excellent dancer, easily guiding her in an improvised box step. Though much of his face was obscured by his black mask, Lily noticed his strong chin and full, dusky rose lips. For the most part he was looking at her seriously, only smiling slightly, but she was sure his full-blown grin would be dazzling. On top of his physical appearance, the masked man smelled _delicious_. Like his eyes, the boy's enticing scent was familiar to Lily, but she couldn't place where she'd smelled it before.

All in all, Lily had a very pleasant time dancing with her mystery partner, and she was so entranced by him that she didn't even notice when the first song ended and led into a second, and then a third; nor did she notice Lucy, Sirius, Remus, and Peter at the back of the room, wearing identical satisfied smirks as they watched the pair.

Finally, when she heard the opening notes of "You've Really Got a Hold on Me," Lily realized that they'd been dancing for quite a while. Somehow she and the young man had moved closer together, so that their torsos were almost touching. As the song was ending, she looked up into those hazel eyes and gave a small smile, trying to move away, but the boy held her fast looked searchingly at her. Not really knowing what he was searching for, Lily just smiled a little wider. The stranger gave her a half-smile in return, and slowly began leaning in towards her. The smirks from the back of the room broadened.

Strangely, Lily didn't panic. In the back of her mind, she knew she wasn't the kind of girl to share a kiss with an unidentified boy to whom she'd never spoken. In the front of her mind, though, she knew that she was impossibly comfortable around this tall, handsome youth. Perhaps she would find out who he was, or perhaps his identity would remain a secret forever; either way, Lily was entirely sure that she wanted to kiss the man behind the mask.

And so, as her suitor leaned down, Lily Evans leaned towards him, and their lips met. His were even softer than she'd anticipated, and, if possible, he smelled better at this closer proximity. His hand dropped hers and joined its mate at her waist, drawing her further towards him, allowing her to twine her arms around his neck. His tongue slipped out to wet her bottom lip, and she willingly opened her mouth to him. He tasted even better than he smelled. She sighed, and melted into his embrace, standing on tiptoe to give him better access. As they kissed, time seemed to stand still.

* * *

Yeehaw, I did it! I caught the story up to itself, FINALLY. Let me know what you think!


	13. Chapter 13

So, this is pretty much a word-for-word re-post of Chapter 1 (since that was the middle of the story). But if you need to refresh your memory, here you go!

-Lorraine

* * *

**CHAPTER 13** (AKA: CHAPTER 1)

After several blissful moments, they broke apart. Her eyes still closed, she heard him whisper softly: "Go out with me, Evans?"

Her eyes flew open, and her jaw dropped. She dropped the white and gold mask she'd been holding to her face. "Potter?"

He smiled the winsome, slightly crooked James Potter smile, known to have brought hundreds of females to their knees. If Lily's brain had not been in a state of shock, she might have noticed that the grin faltered a bit, and she would have seen nervousness in the hazel eyes partially obscured by the black mask that reminded her of Muggle superheroes. However, she was not in a position to notice these details, and instead rushed out of the Great Hall at top speed.

Behind the fleeing redhead, James Potter's shoulders slumped, and anyone who was listening could have heard a defeated sigh issue from that young man's lips.

"Bugger. Bugger, bugger, bugger and bloody hell! I'm going to murder the stupid blighter who did this!" Lily continued muttering under her breath.

"You might not want to be doing that, love."

Lily whipped around at the sound of Sirius Black's voice. Her eyes narrowed. "And why is that, Black?"

"Because, _Evans_, the "stupid blighter" of whom you speak happens to be the headmaster."

For the second time in ten minutes, Lily's mouth opened in shock.

"What? That's preposterous, Black, Dumbledore has much more important things to do than muck about in the love lives of his students."

As Sirius shrugged and winked, a calm, pleasant voice came from behind her, making her jump slightly.

"More important, perhaps, but certainly neither more entertaining nor more rewarding. Good evening, Ms. Evans."

"Professor Dumbledore, sir! Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Well, Ms. Evans, 'stupid blighter' though I may be—" Lily blushed crimson.

"Profes—"

"—No, no, my dear, don't fret. I've been called far worse. And on purpose, too! As I was saying, I take a great deal of pleasure in watching my students enjoy themselves. It's great sport to see the bloom of new romance. If I do say so, you and Mr. Potter make a lovely couple. And, of course, who can resist a costume ball?"

With that, Dumbledore conjured a feathered mask that reminded Lily of Mardi Gras, and with a charming smile that reached all the way to his sparkling blue eyes, he walked away.

Lily was still in a state of embarrassed shock, so it took her a moment to recall Sirius standing off to the side trying very hard to suppress his laughter. When she did notice his presence, she glared at him. Her attempt to sober him up backfired completely, and he broke into raucous peals of laughter.

Reluctantly, she herself began to grin. Dumbledore really was a bit of a nutter. Then she remembered what Sirius had said in the beginning of this conversation. The grin slipped off her face, replaced by an expression of skeptical confusion.

"So you're saying that Dumbledore suggested a masquerade ball simply to get me and Ja—I mean Potter—together?"

Sirius had mostly recovered, and said with a cheeky grin, "Looks that way, doesn't it, Lilykins?"

This earned him another glare, and Lily sat down on a nearby bench, thinking hard.

"Look, Evans, you really haven't any reason to refuse James now. He's wined and dined you, he's acted polite and debonair, and you shared a kiss that was—as far as I could tell—rather breathtaking. Eh?"

She took a moment to respond, and turned towards him with an expression he had not been expecting. He'd anticipated an angry outburst, or perhaps—significantly less likely but still possible—a shy smile as she comprehended what he just said. What he did not expect from the fierce Lily Evans was a look of trepidation and hesitance.

"But this wasn't supposed to happen, Sirius!" She said, miserably.

Taken aback, he began to ask: "Since when do you call me Siri-? You know, never mind. What wasn't supposed to happen?"

"I wasn't supposed to fall for him! Or if I was, it was supposed to be because he changed drastically and took me seriously."

The young master Black was about to make a "Sirius" joke when his brain processed the fact that Lily Evans was finally admitting to her feelings for his best mate. Then he realized that she had just said something, and that he should keep this conversation going. "But he has changed! You really don't see it? Personally, I do not approve of some of the changes, but that should really just go to show you that you _would_ approve of them. Merlin, Lily, he'd change anything for you. You think he doesn't take you seriously? If that amount of boneheaded determination and devotion isn't 'taking you seriously' then I never want to take anything seriously. It looks like a bloody ton of work."

"But he didn't even ask me to the ball!"

"Would you have said yes?"

"Yes!" Sirius raised an eyebrow. "I would have accepted him, really."

"Why now?"

"Because I'm in love with the prat, for Merlin's sake. I have been for months now."

"But he's still been asking you out at least once a week. If you've loved him for months, why haven't you said 'yes' to one of those offers?"

Lily faltered. "I… well… that is to say…"

"You were scared."

"No! I was _not_ scared."

"Come on, Evans, admit it. You thought you were just a game to him, right? That you were just the frigid bitch" she winced, "who he had to woo to prove his reputation once and for all as the second-most eligible bachelor—the first being yours truly, of course—Hogwarts and the Wizarding World have ever known." She rolled her eyes. "Fine, you don't have to say anything, but I know that's what you're thinking. And I can assure you, as the best mate of a fine lad who's hopelessly in love with you—it's quite sickening, really—that you have never been a game to him." She looked down, and he continued bitterly. "Honestly, I wish that's all this was, because then I don't think he'd be so crushed every time you turn him down."

She looked up at this, a sad look having replaced the fearful one from a few minutes earlier. "Is it really as bad as all that, Sirius? He just seems so strong and carefree. I don't see why I should matter so much."

"Well, right now, I don't either. Honestly, woman! Have you not been listening? He's crazy for you, over the moon, head over heels in love, and he has been since third year!"

"Personally, I think I was a goner as soon as you looked at me on that first ride on the Hogwarts Express."

Two heads whipped around at the sound of a third voice, extremely familiar to them both.

"James?" Lily said. There was a pause during which James met Lily's eyes searchingly for a full ten seconds.

James turned towards the third occupant of the corridor. "Pads, could you give us a mo'?"

"Sure thing, mate." Sirius locked eyes with James for a brief moment in a silent "good luck" and then he sauntered off the same way Dumbledore had gone.

James sat down next to Lily, who had directed her gaze to the floor as soon as she had broken eye contact with the beautiful boy. After a long moment, James spoke.

"While I will be the first to agree that your dainty feet are very alluring, Lily, would you please look at me?"

She looked up and they exchanged small smiles, his encouraging and hers nervous. "How much of that did you hear?" she asked.

"Well, I was sulking about at the refreshments table near the door when I heard Sirius call someone a 'frigid bitch.' I thought my dear best mate might be getting into a girl-fight, and came to investigate. Usually it cheers me up to see him slapped upside the head by his latest paramour, though it's the best fun when Remus is the slapper." She laughed shortly. "But really, Lil—and I know you have very little reason to believe me—Sirius is right. A rare thing, I know, but I do talk about you a lot, so he's probably gathered that I'm not just after you for the sex or anything like that. If it were that easy, he probably would have just Confunded you for an hour or so to let me have my wicked way with you." He grinned.

She gasped exaggeratedly and widened her eyes. He took this for genuine alarm and hastened to reassure her, saying, "No, no, I was kidding. He wouldn't do something like that. And if he would, I'd never take advantage of you like that. Don't worry."

"I know, James. I was kidding."

"Oh. Right…"

She smiled softly. "But really, that's not true, anyways." He began to protest, but she shushed him. "I meant that it's not true that I have very little reason to believe you. I actually have very little reason not to believe you. As Sirius was saying to me before you began listening, you've changed a lot."

"He always was a good lad, Sirius. Though I am a bit offended that you believe him and not me." He frowned.

She nudged him playfully. "Well, you're only the _second_ most eligible bachelor the Wizarding World has ever seen, after all. As the first, and therefore the most beautiful man alive, he's obviously more credible." James rolled his eyes. "Although to be quite honest, I think you'd give him a run for his money in that category." She looked down shyly.

"Why, Miss Lily Evans! Did you just compliment me _and_ flirt with me? All in one go? I'm not sure my poor heart can handle the excitement!" Though he meant it sarcastically, his excited voice and grin—which threatened to split his face in two—indicated that he was more serious than he'd like to let on. She didn't seem to notice, though, and merely blushed more deeply.

The old Lily, the one who despised him down to his very core, would have come up with a snappy retort to his comment by now. The lack of a comeback was what really convinced him that things were changing—for the better, he hoped.

By no estimation was James Potter a coward, and so, not unexpectedly, he decided to take the plunge for the second time that evening.

"So, umm, Lils… Can I ask you a question?" She opened her mouth, and by the playful glint in her eye he guessed what she was about to say. "I know, I know, I just did ask you a question, but that's not what I meant. I want to ask you a _real_ question, and it's one that you're used to by now, but just… remember that I'm serious about it. That's probably not something you usually consider, but I'm not just asking to take the mickey out of you, or anything." He looked into her eyes searchingly, and seemed to find what he was looking for, because he started to smile. "And remember that I'm the second most beautiful man in the world, so I have at least some amount of credibility." She rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop her lips from quirking up in a small smile.

"Anyways…. Lily, will you go out with me?"

* * *

If you're reading this now, and you're inclined to review, it might mean that you've already reviewed this chapter... But that's okay, I love redundancy!


	14. Chapter 14

Phew! Three chapters in one night. Sure, one of them was already posted… Whatever, I still feel accomplished. I hope you like this, and that it isn't too ridiculously cheesy in the beginning. (I'm pretty sure it is, actually, but let's just not talk about it.)

Love you guys for sticking with me!

- Lorraine

* * *

**CHAPTER 14**

Previously on TMBTM:

_"So, umm, Lils… Can I ask you a question?" She opened her mouth, and by the playful glint in her eye he guessed what she was about to say. "I know, I know, I just did ask you a question, but that's not what I meant. I want to ask you a real question, and it's one that you're used to by now, but just… remember that I'm serious about it. That's probably not something you usually consider, but I'm not just asking to take the mickey out of you, or anything." He looked into her eyes searchingly, and seemed to find what he was looking for, because he started to smile. "And remember that I'm the second most beautiful man in the world, so I have at least some amount of credibility." She rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop her lips from quirking up in a small smile._

"_Anyways…. Lily, will you go out with me?"_

* * *

She saw that one coming, as he had guessed she would. For some reason, though, it didn't make her as happy as she was expecting. Although she finally did believe that he had changed, and that he would take this relationship seriously, she now worried that she would be all wrong for him. When she first fell for him, she thought that their relationship would be fire and ice, with him still being a rule-breaking miscreant, and her being the responsible Head Girl. It would be all passion, and while that wasn't ideal in the long run, she was sure then that that was all she could really handle with this boy—and she was sure that it would be quite an enjoyable experience.

And that was the problem, now. She still wasn't sure she could be in a real relationship with James Potter, but she was sorely tempted, and that scared her. He already seemed so ready to be a man, one who would cherish and take care of her. Hell, he'd been telling her he was in love with her for at least three years now, but she had never even remotely believed it was true. With the way he was looking at her now, though, it seemed all too possible, and she didn't trust herself to be around something like that. She would surely lose control and make hasty decisions that she might regret later. Like accepting his offer, even after all this.

"I don't know, James…" His face fell, but his eyes were questioning. However, they were interrupted before she could go on.

"Oh, come off it, Evans!" came a voice from several paces down the corridor.

"Sirius!" James and Lily said together, the first annoyed and the second startled. A head of silky black hair poked out from behind a suit of armor. He was smiling his most winning smile, but when he saw James' glare, his expression morphed into a frown. He addressed James in frustration: "Well honestly, mate, if the two most eligible bachelors in the world can't convince her to go out with one of them, there really is no hope for her." When he saw that James was not amused, he continued more solemnly. "One of you needs to give it a rest. Either Evans should give you a chance, or you should stop believing that she ever will."

"The young master has a point." Both Head students looked up in surprise to see the headmaster appearing out of thin air from a spot a few meters behind Sirius' hiding place. "Ms. Evans, we meet again! And it's lovely to see you, Mr. Potter."

James recovered more quickly than Lily. "Ehm… Much obliged, Professor. Er, sorry, but what are you doing here? Sirius is a generally intrusive and cheeky bloke, so that accounts for his presence, but you… Well, I'm a bit confused, sir."

Dumbledore chuckled at Sirius' look of indignation. "Well, James, as Ms. Evans could perhaps tell you, this being our second meeting this evening, I'm pulling for the two of you."

"Pulling for us, sir?"

"Ah, my apologies, is that a Muggle phrase? They're just fascinating, so I try to slip them in with every day conversation. I simply meant that I would be greatly pleased if my Head Students could realize the bond between them and—"

"He wishes the two of you would catch on already and have a snog fest in that cozy private common room of yours!" Sirius' outburst earned him another laugh from the headmaster, and matching blushes from James and Lily.

"Quite right, Mr. Black. What a very succinct way of putting it." Sirius shrugged at the Headmaster.

"It's a gift he has, professor." Three heads spun around as Dumbledore faced a well dressed yet haggard-looking Remus Lupin with a jovial smile.

"Good evening, Mr. Lupin. Enjoying the festivities?"

Not sure whether Dumbledore was referring to the ball in the Great Hall or the antics his friends were getting up to in the corridor, Remus just nodded, pulling off a blue and gold half-face mask.

After a moment of silence from all three young people, James and Sirius simultaneously asked: "Moony?" as Lily squeaked out a questioning "Remus?" He grinned sheepishly in response.

"I was just heading out of the ball to get some air when I heard James insulting Sirius, and I thought I'd come join in the fun."

"Great," James groaned. "Did you bring Wormtail, too? And Skeeter, that gossipy second-year? Then we can make it a real party."

"Someone's a bit tetchy this evening."

"Really, Sirius, now is not the time." Remus said exasperatedly.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure Messrs Black and Lupin are quite sorry for having interrupted. I suppose they only meant well, as did I. But I can see that you two need a moment to yourselves. Only remember that in these dark times, love is the most valuable weapon. Cherish it." Dumbledore gave them a kind, grave smile, and placed one hand each on Sirius' and Remus' shoulders. "Well, we shall be off, and we promise to cause no further interruptions. Pip pip!" The three men walked down the corridor and disappeared behind the massive doors of the Great Hall.

Lily, who had been staring after them for a good minute and a half, finally turned to face James. She met his intense eyes hesitantly, cowed by the depth of emotion she found there.

"You were saying, love?" He prompted.

"James, I want to say yes."

"Then bloody well say yes, you infuriating girl, you!" James attempted a playful attitude, but she could tell that he was truly upset that she hadn't accepted him.

"I just… I don't…. well, I don't really feel like I know you. And I don't feel like you can really know me well enough to have such intense feelings for me. Obviously we're attracted to each other," James laughed darkly, "and that's all well and good, but how can we have a _real_ relationship if we can't keep our hands off each other?"

"Honestly? I don't know. But there'd be a hell of a lot of motivation to work it out, don't you think?" James winked roguishly at the redhead next to him, but soon grew serious again. "You want the truth, Lily? I think that being with you—if you decide to finally love me back, that is—" James ignored the small gasp that escaped Lily's mouth at that famous four-letter word, "would be as easy as breathing. We'd have the best of so many worlds, Lils, and all you have to do is give this a try."

* * *

Okay, I kind of love the ending of this chapter. I was contemplating writing a lil' bit more, but decided against it. I hope you don't hate me for that. Review, s'il vous plait!


	15. Chapter 15

**Okay, guys. I really want to finish this fic, because at this point, the fact that it's sitting there mostly just makes me feel guilty. My hope is to have this be the second-to-last chapter… I might do an epilogue-ish type deal later, if there's enough demand. Be warned: this one is long, fluffy, and significantly smutty towards the end.**

**Thank you so much, to those of you who have stuck along for the ride, and to those of you who get to read this more or less in one fell swoop. You're all great (especially if you review)!**

**- Lorraine**

* * *

**CHAPTER 15**

Previously on TMBTM:

"_You want the truth, Lily? I think that being with you—if you decide to finally love me back, that is—" James ignored the small gasp that escaped Lily's mouth at that famous four-letter word, "would be as easy as breathing. We'd have the best of so many worlds, Lils, and all you have to do is give this a try."_

* * *

After James said this, the pair of Gryffindors sat in silence for a few moments, not breaking eye contact—at some point, Lily noticed, James must have taken off his mask. Strangely, the Head Students were both giving each other pleading looks, though for different reasons. James' eyes seemed to say, "Just give me a chance!" while Lily's were asking for more time to think. After a while, though, Lily grew impatient with herself. Lacking any other ideas of what to do, she leaned towards James and kissed him with all the newfound—or, at least, newly identified—feelings she had for the boy.

James reciprocated instantly, and this kiss was at least as mind-blowing as their first of the evening. It was more heated, more emotional, and infinitely more _them_. Not that the kiss on the dance floor had been tame, but this wasall passion and fire. This was what Lily—and James, for that matter—dreamed it would be. As clichéd as it sounds, both teenagers poured their hearts into the embrace, trying to convey their feelings. Their lips met in a tangle of hope, fear, and acquiescence (Lily's); of love, desperation, and possession (James'). Needless to say, the combination was explosive.

Almost as soon as the kiss began, Lily was surprised by its intensity. She gasped, and James eagerly used this to his advantage, slipping his tongue past the barrier of Lily's teeth. Surprised, but willing, Lily's tongue met James' timidly, but he soon coaxed more aggression out of her. She moaned, fisting her hands around his collar to get closer, and breathing in his delicious scent. James began to nibble on her lower lip, and she nearly ripped his shirt off just to relieve a little tension. This battle of lips, teeth, and tongues seemed the natural progression of their verbal spats, and Lily found herself wondering why they hadn't progressed _earlier_, by Merlin!

As they kissed, James grabbed Lily's waist and dragged her towards him on the stone bench, trying to pull her as close as possible. Unsatisfied with the result, Lily maneuvered so she was kneeling on the seat next to James, who straddled the bench. This new angle gave James better opportunities to splay his hands across Lily's back (and maybe a bit lower), and to trail kisses along her neck and jaw. Lily, for her part, thrust her hands even more hungrily into James' dark, messy hair—she pulled the boy closer to her, loath to let him go even after they'd been glued together for several heated minutes.

They broke apart as they heard the distant creak of the Great Hall doors, but they did not move far away from each other. Lily's eyes, flecked like green amber, met James' in a glance almost as significant as their recent snog. His hands still grasping her round the waist, the bespectacled young man looked at her critically, his hazel orbs flashing bright in the torchlight of the hallway—he decided that she looked torn. _But between what and what?_ he thought. Just as he was about to voice this question aloud, she moved, softly touching her fingers to her lips, as if in a daze.

"James," she whispered.

He tensed, waiting for a "what have we done?" or a "please just leave me alone." What he heard instead was about the last thing he would've expected.

"Let's go upstairs," she said, smiling slightly, and stood up. As his hands slid from her slender form, she caught one and used it to pull him up from the bench. And so, hand in hand, the Head Students walked towards their dormitory, entirely forgetting about their duties at the Masquerade.

James thought he heard a clapping noise—or perhaps a high-five?—followed by a suspiciously familiar chorus of chuckles, but he was too dumbfounded to investigate.

* * *

As Lily pulled James up towards their shared dormitory, both students were lost in their own thoughts. Though you wouldn't know it to look at them, Hogwarts' own Head Girl and Boy were each fighting intense internal battles at the moment.

Lily was marveling at her forwardness—she had never kissed a boy so wantonly before, let alone in a corridor where anyone was liable to walk in. The most shocking part about the whole affair, though, was that she wasn't ashamed of herself. Sure, she was nervous beyond belief, but the redhead wasn't upset at her conduct—she was just worried that she would mess up her relationship with James.

A similar train of thought was presently chugging through the Head Boy's mind. While his heart was soaring with happiness that Lily was finally taking a chance on him—so much so that she had bestowed on him the most mindblowing kiss of his seventeen years—his brain was running a mile a minute. Part of his thoughts were consumed by replaying that kiss—and projecting how much further their relationship might progress tonight—but mostly he was terrified that he would do something wrong. _Merlin knows how many years of practice I have at pissing Lily off_, he thought worriedly. James knew that this was his last chance with the stubborn girl, and if he made one misstep, it would surely come crashing down around him.

Before they knew it, the Head Students had arrived at the entrance to their living quarters. Still grasping James' hand tightly, Lily murmured the password, and the portrait swung forward to admit them. They clambered in, but as soon as they were fully in the private common room, Lily seemed to hesitate.

James, sensing her uncertainty, knew it was his turn to make a move, and so he led her over to the couch, sitting and pulling her down next to him. Lily pulled her legs up onto the cushion, occupying herself by arranging her mermaid skirt so that it wouldn't get too wrinkled. She must have been fidgeting for about a minute when James pulled her face up to meet his, with a finger under her chin.

He kissed her softly, and Lily almost instantly melted into the embrace—this was territory she was at least somewhat familiar with. As James' hand slipped from under her chin to the back of her neck, Lily's hands went to his collar, determined to rid him of his bowtie. As soon as her swift fingers made it to the second button of his shirt, though, James pulled away slightly.

"Lily," he murmured, nose still touching hers. Frowning, she brought her eyes to his, and was once again cowed by the depth of emotion she found there. She swallowed nervously, not really wanting to talk, but knowing it was necessary.

As if reading her mind, James continued. "Lily, what are we doing?" At the dreaded question, the redhead leaned back, shrugging, and letting her shoulders slump helplessly. He laughed softly at her dejected appearance and turned on the couch so he was directly facing her, taking hold of her hand. "Trust me, Lils, I could not be happier with the way things are going," he thought he heard her snort derisively, "but I don't want you to do anything you regret. Just because you 'want to say yes' to dating me—and don't think I'm not going to hold you to that, love—doesn't mean we have to get hot and heavy right now." She met his eyes again, and he could tell that he was about to get a lecture for trying to protect her virtue, or some such. He quickly headed her off, adding, "That said, if you _want_ to get hot and heavy right now…" he trailed off suggestively, waggling his eyebrows.

She looked at him for a long moment, watching as the mask of braggadocio slipped from in front of his eyes, revealing how vulnerable he really was in this situation. And so, Lily gathered all her resolve, and plunged right in.

"You know what, James? That is exactly what I want." He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "No, don't ask me if I'm sure. Okay? Let's just do it—let's get hot and heavy. After all, we're supposedly meant for each other, right? So why wait? When we were dancing tonight, I didn't even know who you were and I was comfortable enough to let you snog me."

He shrugged, as if conceding her point, and slowly a smile grew on his face. "Well, actually, I'm pretty sure you snogged me… But I catch your drift." And with that he leaned forward, capturing her lips once again.

Unlike their most recent kiss, this one was anything but soft. James grabbed Lily's face with both hands, as she wound her arms around his back, feeling the muscles beneath his shoulders. Without preamble, he plunged his tongue into her mouth, eliciting a groan from both parties.

As they continued their vigorous kissing, tongues battling for dominance, James' hands slipped down Lily's neck to her shoulders, past her collarbone, and down to the sides of her ribcage. As soon as his thumbs began to caress her breasts, Lily's nipples seemed to spring to attention. James took care to gently pinch the round nubs, causing the redhead to groan once again.

As the Head Boy continued his ministrations, Lily pulled away, gasping for air. James ducked his head into her neck, breathing in the scent of her perfume, applied behind the ear, even as he licked her pulse point. Lily summoned the energy to lift her arms onto James' shoulders, fisting one hand through the hair at the back of his head.

Still fondling her lovely breasts, James looked up at the girl of his dreams. Where Lily had expected to find a confident smirk, though, all she saw was an expression radiating genuine happiness and desire. This realization aroused her—impossibly—further, and she crawled forward on the couch, attempting to straddle James.

Sadly, her magnificent gown was not made for such flexible activity, and Lily soon became fed up with trying to lift he skirt to an easier height. Making a disgruntled noise, she reluctantly stepped off the couch, backing away from James' very effective hands. He voiced his dissent, groaning, but soon altogether lost the ability to make sounds as he watched the redhead shimmy out of her dress.

She slid the teal velvety straps down her shoulders, and tugged the bodice down over her waist, revealing the gorgeous burgundy bra, courtesy of Lucy. She then stepped out of the offending garment, one toned, smooth, freckled leg at a time, and eagerly started back towards James.

But before she could sink down onto his lap, the Head Boy planted his hands on her waist and stopped her, so that she was standing at arms' length in front of him. She made to push past James' grip and straddle him, but his strength was too great, so she had no choice but to stay put. Confused, she put a hand to his face and made him look her in the eye—he still hadn't spoken since she broke away to take her dress off.

James looked up, hazel eyes almost black with desire, and spoke in a reverent whisper. "Merlin, Lily. You're fucking _gorgeous_." And without further hesitation he pulled the girl down into his lap, so he could resume his exploration of her chest, now with a slightly flimsier barrier.

Happy that she was no longer restrained, Lily wasted no time ridding James of his tuxedo jacket and dress shirt, and now her lips descended upon the bronze column of his throat. She breathed in his wonderful scent, making a wet trail up towards his jaw, nipping occasionally. James made a satisfied noise in the back of his throat, and in a quick move reattached his lips to Lily's.

She was so distracted by his drugging kisses that Lily didn't even notice when James gently unclasped her bra, letting her round breasts out of their soft confines. He laid the garment down on the couch beside them, feeling the delicate lace. "Burgundy is a lovely color on you," he murmured, as his hands went to cup her naked breasts.

At the contact, Lily gasped, breathily responding, "Thanks. I'll have to tell Lucy you approve." She drew another sharp intake of breath when he lightly ran his short fingernails over her nipples, creating the most delicious friction.

He frowned when she mentioned her best friend, not following. "Lucy?" he asked.

"She picked out the lingerie. I guess she was right about it coming in handy."

"Mmm," he murmured, finally bringing his lips to her collarbone, placing light butterfly kisses there. "Remind me to thank her in the morning." Lily's laugh turned into a moan when he bit down on one nipple, while stroking the other with his thumb.

Unable to press her legs together and relieve the growing warmth between her legs, Lily settled for pressing her hips into those of the boy she was straddling, causing him to groan. Smiling slightly, Lily began to grind against James in a regular pattern, which seemed to be further arousing both Gryffindors quite quickly.

When James began to coordinate his assault on her breasts with the gyrating of their lower halves, Lily couldn't help but whisper his name needily. "Ohh, James."

Hearing his name drop from her lips in that tone created a definitive shift in James—as well as a distinct shift in his trousers. _Merlin, she's sexy!_ He thought. _I wonder what she looks like when she comes…_ And immediately this became his priority.

Leaving one hand to tend to her breasts, James presently recaptured Lily's lips with his, and trailed the fingers of his other hand down her side, until he came into contact with her burgundy panties. Fingering the lace at her hip, James caused Lily to falter in her grinding rotation, and she yet again called his name in a pleading whisper—only this time it came out garbled, since her lips were still pressed to his.

Smiling into her mouth, James traced his fingers along the bottom hem of Lily's underwear, until they were at the apex of her thighs. Carefully, he slid his middle finger under the fabric, finding Lily's slit to be slick with wetness. She whimpered, pressing into his hand, and he quickly took the hint, sliding that same finger into her slippery cunt. He stroked her slowly, but this wasn't enough for Lily. She began to rotate her hips again, and James took this as encouragement—his finger explored until it found her clit.

At the sensations James was creating, Lily's breathing soon became erratic, and she jerked her hips as well as she could manage, despite her thigh muscles clenching from the building tension. "Mmm, James!" she urged him on, and his fingers began to move faster while pressing harder.

As he quickened the pace, James couldn't help but stare at the girl in front of him. Her head was thrown back, crimson curls cascading down her back so that the tendrils almost touched the seat of the couch. Her long, white neck was stretched so that it looked impossibly long, and he could still smell her perfume from earlier in the evening. Her chest—_her beautiful, beautiful chest_, he thought—was deliciously flushed, so that the light smattering of freckles there almost blended into her rosy flesh.

His digits continued to swirl around her cunt, and Lily could barely keep up her rhythm of rocking into James' hand. She was vaguely aware that she was being rather vocal, but couldn't quite bring herself to care. When she felt herself nearing her climax, she took a deep breath in through her nose, eyes snapping open to meet those familiar hazel orbs.

She found James looking at her with such desire that she came then and there, crying out as her inner muscles clenched around his fingers. Chest heaving, Lily recovered enough to drag James' face down to hers—at some point she seemed to have fallen back to lay, rather than sit, on the couch—kissing him sloppily as she still struggled for breath.

He dragged his body on top of hers, and as Lily felt the telltale signs of his desire against her thigh, her own lust was immediately rekindled. She hazily set about removing his dress pants, and soon he was down to his boxer briefs. With both of them in just their underwear, James stalled Lily's hands before she could peel off any more layers. Eyes closed, he leaned down to kiss her chastely on the lips, rubbing his nose against hers.

Unprepared for this turn towards the sweet, Lily began to panic, contemplating James' possible second thoughts about moving too fast. But just as she was about to vocalize her worries, James opened his warm eyes, and gazed smilingly into her iridescent eyes.

Suddenly, Lily was again looking into the reassuring face of that goofy eleven-year-old James. _I guess he is still in there,_ she thought. Remembering his old encouragement, the redhead smiled back at the bespectacled boy in front of her. She stretched up to give him a lingering kiss, murmuring against his lips, "Don't worry. It's going to be great."

He chuckled at that, and when he drew back Lily could see the twinkle of recognition and laugher in James' eyes. He looked at her for a moment, as if making sure she were really there, and then bent to whisper in her ear, "Lily, my love, the one thing I _never_ worried about was how great it would be."

Lily laughed softly as James kissed the underside of her jaw, allowing him to slowly remove her underwear, and then his, eliminating the last barriers between them.

* * *

**The end (almost)! What do you think so far?**


	16. Chapter 16

**Whew! This has been a bit of a whirlwind trip, eh? Anyhow, I know you're all excited to be done with this one for good, now that it has a proper ending, so I won't make this note too long. I chose to end The Man Behind The Mask on the morning after, with no more mention of the Marauders and Lucy, partly because I'm lazy, and partly because this story is really not about them… That said, if I get inspired, one of these days I might tack on an epilogue. That's not a guarantee, though, so definitely treat this chapter as if it were the last.**

**One thing to keep in mind for this LAST CHAPTER: it's pretty much all smut. I'm not sure that it's _great_ smut, or anything, but our favorite Head Students are definitely getting down and dirty up in here, so if that bothers you… don't bother to read this bit.**

**Thanks to all of you guys for reading, and remember that nothing makes a writer happier than a review!**

**Cheers,**

**Lorraine**

* * *

**CHAPTER 16**

Previously on TMBTM…

_Lily laughed softly as James kissed the underside of her jaw, allowing him to slowly remove her underwear, and then his, eliminating the last barriers between them._

* * *

Thus rid of all clothing, Lily and James indulged in a few more moments of simply kissing and caressing, with James hovering over Lily on the couch. Neither of the Head Students could quite believe the situation they were in—James, of course, was still incredulous that the uncompromising Lily Evans was finally giving him a chance. And Lily was beginning to realize what a fool she had been to let herself wait this long to accept James for what he was.

_And what he is_, she thought, as his fingers skimmed down below her waist again, _is a bloody good shag._ The haze of lust in Lily's brain was such that she had to make a genuine effort to turn her head and meet James' gaze—partly this was because his face was buried in her neck, as he was licking at her pulse point. She grabbed his silky mop of hair to bring their mouths together, and then pulled back to give him one last searching look. Despite her earlier cavalier attitude, Lily was not one to take this situation lightly.

It seemed that James was of the same mind, because when his eyes met hers, there was nothing but solemnity—and desire, and love—in their depths. He swooped down once more for a quick kiss, and then pushed himself up just far enough for Lily to see his quirky half-smile. She returned it with a mischievous grin of her own, and raked her fingertips down his back and up again, finally nestling them in the hair at the back of his neck.

All traces of laughter had now left James' face, as he was using his full concentration not to fuck her silly then and there. Before he was tempted any further, he spoke in a low voice.

"Ready, love?"

She smiled and winked at him, "More than." She leaned up for a quick nibble on his earlobe, taking the opportunity to whisper to him, "Make love to me, James."

"Now there is an instruction I can accomplish promptly," he said cheekily.

Using one arm to prop himself up (to prevent Lily's getting crushed), James softly trailed his free hand down Lily's smooth body once again. He brushed past her breast—tweaking a nipple and watching as Lily arched her back—then continued over her stomach, drawing a couple of lazy circles around her belly button. From there, he quickly dipped his middle finger down to her cunt again, finding her as dripping and ready as she had been a few minutes previous. Satisfied with the results of his search, James aligned his swollen hardness at Lily's entrance.

Looking into the redhead's eyes—he noticed that the green orbs were dominated by her pupils, dilated with pleasure—James slowly pushed into Lily, until their hipbones touched. Lily, who had begun moaning at the slightest contact, was now fairly panting with desire. James, still propped up by one hand, used the other to touch her hip, and he thus directed her to rotate her lower half to the rhythm he had established. Once Lily got the idea, she became quite engrossed in her task, thrusting her hips to meet James' on each of his strokes.

The Head Boy hissed and growled at the pleasurable contact, and reached to squeeze one of Lily's breasts. At this she gave a keening whine, and her inner muscles spasmed around James' rock hard cock, signaling that she was close to her climax. James grinned, again skimming his hand down Lily's body to rub at her throbbing clit. She fairly screamed at this, arching her back and using her own hands to pinch her nipples, while still managing to keep up with the pace James was setting.

The sight of Lily's earnest gyration and attention to her own breasts, along with the frenzied pulse of her warm, wet core, was enough to send James right towards his own climax. Groaning harshly, he leaned his head down to kiss the crook of Lily's neck, so that her hands quickly switched from fondling her breasts to raking through his hair.

"_Fuck_, Lil, I'm so close…" he whispered into her shoulder, trying to steadily roll his fingers over her clit even as his hard length slammed in and out of her pussy.

Lily herself was _far_ beyond intelligible sentences, and so she simply moaned James' name into his ear. But it was only a matter of seconds before "James" turned into "Jaaa—Ahhh!" as her second orgasm of the night washed over her, coming in so many waves that her entire body was quivering when James cried out and spilled himself inside her.

Spent, James used both hands to prop himself above Lily, and licked his way from her pulse point up to her ear, only to speak in a low voice, "That was most _definitely_ worth the wait." She hummed in agreement, and felt him smile against her as he nipped her earlobe, finally moving his lips to hers in a long wet kiss.

He rolled off of her to lay sideways with his back to the back of the couch, and pulled her to meet him, so that her chest was smushed against his. He reached down to her thigh and pulled it up, so that her leg was draped over his. He then moved his hand to her face, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear, and met her eyes, which were blinking sleepily at him.

She somehow found the energy to lean forward and kiss his jaw, then settling her head under his chin, so that her breath tickled his chest when she yawned sleepily. Just before she passed out completely, James heard her murmur into his shoulder: "I love you."

Grinning at the fact that—against all odds—she had been the one to say it first (as well as the other celebration-worthy events that took place that evening), James grabbed his wand from the end-table and summoned a blanket to cover them, and only then did he allow himself to fall into the most blissful night's sleep he had ever experienced.

* * *

Lily woke first in the morning, fully remembering the events of the night before. She gazed upon James' sleeping face, which was completely peaceful in slumber, though she could swear there was still a hint of mischief in the twitch of his lips. Smiling, she brought her hand up to his cheek and leaned forward to kiss him awake.

Instantly at attention, James' eyes flew open, momentarily confused. He had lost his glasses in their romp last night, and as a result his surroundings were somewhat blurred. The face in front of him was clearly visible, though, as was the fiery mane surrounding it. In the split second it took for James to remember what had happened, Lily's hands had fisted into his hair, and he grinned against her lips, mumbling, "Well, good morning to you, too, love."

She chuckled lightly as he grasped her waist and pulled her naked form towards his, effectively melding their bodies. His hand slowly roved down Lily's body, soon coming to rest on her generous arse—which he squeezed, causing her to squeak and pull away slightly, narrowing her eyes at him. He only winked and darted forward to kiss her nose before Lily pushed him back into the couch cushions, making slightly more room between them.

Lily removed James' hand from her bottom and sat up, facing away from him. She yawned, stretching her arms above her head while James scooched towards her and snaked an arm around her waist. She smiled, and then laughed aloud when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror across the room. She turned towards James, who was gazing at her with his head propped on the sofa's arm rest.

Lily gestured to her frizzy, tangled hair and smudged makeup. "So, you really want to wake up to _this_ every morning?" she asked him with an eyebrow raised.

"Fuck yeah!" James rejoined, pulling her face down and kissing her thoroughly. He leaned back, eyes closed, and took a deep breath. "Correction," he said, smiling and opening his eyes. "I want to wake up to _that_every morning." He waggled his eyebrows at Lily, leaning up to meet her lips again. She slapped him on the arm and returned the kiss warmly, in what was soon to become an Evans/Potter morning ritual.

* * *

**THE END**


End file.
